PMD: Explorers of the Beyond: The Night Saga
by ExploreBeyond
Summary: Nathen Hill is an average outcast in Rustboro City, but he is sent to an island as a Pokemon in the middle of a war between a peaceful village group on the east side of the island, and an evil group of Pokemon who want to take it over. Why was he sent? What role will he play? Will he come out alive, and what will his friends do in the human world when he is missing? REVIEWS PLEASE!
1. My Life Changes Forever

A Journey begins in darkness...

My name is Nathen Hill, and my life sucks.

I hate the fact that I'm the only one who thinks that using Pokemon for battles to solve their trainer's problems is selfish and stupid, and I'm not one for it. For that, I'm picked on by every kid in school, my only friend, Aaron, makes things better. I had a terrible life made up of terrible grades (I always thought the teachers were out to get me) and terrible parents who thought I was strange,since my dad was a champion in his day and all.

I was lonely, miserable, and hated. One day it all changed... Including myself. Trust me, it's a story to hear. After that one day my life was transformed into a series of amazing adventures filled with excitement, friends, and a greater purpose.

Right, I have to talk about how it all started.

After 6th Period of the last day of school, I was always greeted by this same group of kids in the hallway who barreled me over and called me "Loser" and laughed, but I decided that I was going to make these jerks know how it felt to be hurt, so, fed up with them attacking me each day and the teachers not doing a thing about it, I stood up, wiping the blood from my lips, and I decked their leader, Andrew, in the face. He fell to the ground in a grunt. Man, was that satisfying, proud of myself, Andrew got up and gave me a sneer. Then he smiled evilly as I heard a voice behind me.

"Mr. Hill, why did you hit poor Andrew in the face?"

I turned to see my Vice Principal, Mrs. Kendrick. She had a meter stick in her hand and her glasses were reflecting light, she always had that same angry frown, no matter what you did.

But, being the last day of the school year, I decided to run, knowing the school could do nothing to me in five minutes, so I bolted, with Andrew's gang coming up behind me. Knowing they could beat me senseless as long as no police were around.

Eventually, they caught up with me when I tried to lose them in an alley in Lilycove City. They were smarter.

The gang had about five members, and they all looked at me with contempt satisfaction.

"Finally, I've been wanting to do this all year." Said Andrew, cracking his knuckles, his goons snickered and did the same.

"Hey!"

We all looked and saw Crystal, one of the most popular girls in the school, glaring at Andrew with absolute anger.

"Stop picking on him. What did he do to you?" She asked, furious.

I had a HUGE crush on Crystal, sometimes she would hang out with me and Aaron to make us seem less lonely. She was a nice girl, but when you ticked her off, you had to pay for it.

"Psh! Crystal, what are you gonna do about it?" Asked Andrew, laughing.

She slapped him across the face and kicked him in the groin.

"Run before he gets back up, Nathen!"

I thanked Crystal (I think I blushed in the process) and bolted with Andrew's goons behind me. I thought I lost them, then, it happened.

The sky exploded in a flash of black and purple, all pulsing from a specific point. I looked in awe at the light show, then a voice spoke in my mind...

_Your time has come, young one. You must stop him!_

After that, a bright light shot from the sky and hit me square in the chest, I screamed in surprise, and the blacked out.

_Swish._

Something woke me up, it was a tickle on my face.

_Swish._

_"God, what is that?" _I thought.

_Swish._

"Okay, whoever's doing that, stop that right now!" I said, my eyes still closed.

_Swish._

"SERIOUSLY! KNOCK IT OFF!" I shouted again, _seriously _annoyed.

Jumping to my feet, I looked around and noticed a few things:

1: There was nobody around me.

2: I was in the middle of a freaking forest.

Looking around, I was NOWHERE near my house in Lilycove city. The woods looked unfamiliar, I was alone, and the sky still had those strange streaks across it. Wracking my brains, I remembered the beam of blue light shooting out of the sky and engulfing me before I passed out in shock. What happened while I was under?

Realizing I was SOMEHOW dumped in the middle of nowhere, I began walking around to try and find civilization, and I noticed something else was wrong.

I was _way _shorter than I remember I was. Sure, for a 15 year old to be 4' 9" is small, but I felt less than two feet, and when you drop in height like that, it's kind of hard to not notice. Something was _definitely _up, and I wanted to know what.

I ran my hand through my hair, and my arm passed in front of my eyes, it was blue, and had a stubby paw on the end. Feeling my head, I felt short fur and two ears on it, with two long strands of hair and muscles coming out of the sides of it as well. I immediately began running, looking for a pond or something to reflect my face. I found one and looked inside, and almost screamed from my reflection. The blue and black face, the pointed ears, and the tail that woke me up before.

I had turned into a Riolu. What the heck?  
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Sitting by the bank of the lake, I was in complete denial, this was all a dream, somebody at school drugged me and now I'm hallucinating. I tried my best to wake myself up, pinched myself, jumped in the river, even ran my head into a nearby tree, but nothing was working. After finding out this was all real, I sat down again.

"This is not happening... This is not happening..." I said over and over to myself, my arms holding my head.

Still baffled, I would close my eyes and re-open them, checking to see if I was dreaming this, but I kept getting greeted by the same face that stared back at me: a Riolu. I winced each time I looked.

"Alright, Nathen," I said to myself. "You're stranded in the middle of nowhere in the body of a Pokemon, don't just sit there and freak." Pausing, I looked around again, panning the forest line. Getting up and finally realizing my fate, I began looking around my new home.

I wandered for hours and the sun began setting, I was exhausted. The streaks of darkness were creating a weird effect in the sky.

I found a large tree with a hallowed out middle, I got a layer of branches and covered the hole up and took refuge there, still marveling over what had happened to me. My fur kept me warm during the night, curling up, I decided to fall asleep, hoping what had happened was all a dream.

Waking up, I quickly examined myself again. Yeah, I was not dreaming, I was still a Riolu. A new thought arose in me;

Besides Aaron, who would miss me?

Anyways, I left the tree and began looking for help.

I began calling out for somebody, wandering around the forest, looking for a sign of life. After about two hours, I heard a voice.

"Hello?"

I turned and saw a Snivy emerge from the bushes behind me.

"I heard someone calling for help. Was that you?" He said.

I quickly nodded.

"You're new around here, are you traveling?" He asked.

"I guess you could say that." I replied.

"Well, you won't last long in the wilds, rogues run rampant out here. Come with me, there's a village nearby."

"Rogues?"

"You know, wilds, dangerous, protect-territory-at-all-costs? Those Pokemon are dangerous to those who are unprepared." Said Snivy. "Everyone knows that."

Except for me, the new guy.

"Where are you from?" Snivy asked.

I paused, I didn't expect that question. If I said I was a human he'd label me as a crazy psychopath and abandon me. If the Pokemon was going to be my ticket to a civilization, I had to come up with something fast.

"I... Some random part of a forest far away from here. I don't remember the name."

"Oh, okay." Snivy said with a questionable look on his face. I had a feeling he didn't buy it. "Come on, I'll show you the village."

He lead me through the woods to an opening in the woods, he moved a branch out of the way and motioned for me to look, I peered through the small clearing and my mind was blown. What was in front of me was a group of buildings, build out of ancient ruins. They were surrounding a large temple. On top of the building was a statue of Arceus, standing proud over the village.

"Welcome to Haven Village." Snivy said. "A place for travelers to stay, and home of the Luxray Exploration guild. They protect the village from rogue invasions... Among other evil things."

I looked at him. "...Like?"

"Team Darkness. They want to take control of the temple so they can find... Something." He said. "It's a secret. Only high ranking guild members know."

I shrugged it off and let Snivy lead me inside the village. It looked even more spectacular up close, how the Pokemon turned the ruins into a place to live, it was amazing to see.

The Snivy saw me marveling at the village.

"Pretty cool, huh?" He said with a smile, "This place was built a thousand years ago. Arceus was said to lead the first citizens here himself."

"Amazing." I said.

He showed me around, the markets, the living district, and the outside of the Luxray guild in the center. It was very cool to see the whole area completely enclosed in the trees, the overhang of the trees casting an amazing shadow over the valley, and the pulsing darkness across the sky, beautiful, but it looked evil and deadly, as if waiting for the perfect time to strike.

The pulsing darkness really gave me the sense that something pure evil was watching my every move... Knowing my purpose and why I was there, like one kid in school, every time he passed me by in the hallways, he would give me an evil look that would pierce my mind. It did numbers to my mind, because he never spoke to me, and it was really frightening. But he was nowhere compared to that strange presence looming off in the distance... But what was it?

"You seem deep in thought. Is something wrong?" Snivy asked me.

"It's what's going on with the sky." I replied. "It's unsettling me."

"It's unsettling everyone. We just hope that it will end soon. C'mon, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

He ran off and I followed him through the crowd in the village.

I'm rewriting the whole story. After reading Silver Resistance, I realized I was leaving out TONS of details. So I'm giving the characters more personality and introduction, and I tossed out the idea of the partner waking up the main character, because I always found that awkward... Especially after making the mistake of watching those TV specials (I'm gonna enjoy ripping those apart Nostalgia Critic Style soon, look for it on Youtube)

I'm holding a fan art contest until the end of this story. The winner will be announced and will get to put an OC into the story, they will also get a subscription to me and a link to their picture for everyone to see, get drawing!


	2. The Jerks of the Island Pay A Visit

What's going on, guys! How are you liking the rewrite so far? If you are new, don't worry about what I just wrote! I believe it is high time for another chapter!

We were pushing through the bustle of the market, the Snivy shouting at me to hurry up, which wasn't easy with all of the Pokemon around me, but making it out of the market I caught up with him.

"That place is always busy," He said. "Seeing as this is the only major market on the island, Pokemon come from all around to trade. It gets really crazy sometimes, I think a few fights have broken out over some of the rarer items. It gets very crazy over there. Oh, here we go, we should come up on the living district in a second."

He led me to a housing district, the place was made up of houses made up of stone bricks from the ruins. Pokemon were walking from house to house conversing with each other, or heading off to the market or guild to work or buy. I was amazed at how they were able to establish a fully-functional civilization, and no humans knew about it, well, except for me.

"Here, I'll check and see if there's a hut available for you to stay in." Said Snivy.

He went off to talk with a Charmeleon, who I guessed was in charge of the housing district. He came back afterwards.

"There's one over there." Snivy pointed over to a house near the end of the row, I went inside, and found it kind of small, a small fireplace was in the back, and a mat in the middle for me to sleep in. The house was made out of bricks that were harvested from the ruins, there were small cloth curtains covering the windows, and a shelf for storage, it wasn't much, but it was the best thing I had.

Snivy looked at the house.

"That oughta keep you sheltered for a while, anyways, my name's Jake. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm a low ranking member of the Luxray guild. If you have any questions, I'm the Pokemon to ask. Anyways, I gotta get back to the guild, see ya later!"

He ran off and I looked outside to see the sun beginning to set. I decided to sleep.

I awoke to the sounds of screams and explosions, then I heard a voice from outside.

"ROGUES! EVERYONE DEFEND THE VILLAGE!"

I looked outside and saw lots of fights outside, flashes of light from attacks, and screams of pain.

I wasn't all the way awake, so I HAD to make a stupid decision, I decided to fight. You gotta start sometime, right?

I ran outside and saw a Bellsprout vine-whipping Jake, I decided to step in.

Jake pointed at the Bellsprout, tied up by the vines, he was being squeezed. He let out a pained, "_HELP!" _

I ran up to it and grabbed it from behind, it squealed in surprise and attempted to throw me off, but it was too small and light to do it. I yanked it off the ground and threw it over my head, wrestler style and slammed it on the ground. It let go of Jake in surprise. Afterwards, I leaped into the air and brought my elbow in front of me, and I slammed it right in between its arm-roots. It let out a painful gasp before collapsing to the ground.

Jake looked at me with wide eyes.

""How did you do that?" He asked. "I've never seen those attacks before, you're not from around this village, are you?" 

I nodded.

"Well, thanks." he said, as if she was forcing it out. "I'll handle myself, I gotta help the guild defend the village." He ran off.

I was snapped back into reality when I was suddenly hit from behind my head. I turned and saw a Mankey ready to fight. I looked at him and muttered, "Oh, great."

The Mankey charged at me with fists bared. Somehow my instincts kicked in, I anticipated its attack and blocked it with my right paw. I jumped backward and lunged at it, knocking it to the ground. I jumped back up, the Mankey was on the ground in shock as I reard back and kicked it in the top of its head. It passed out from the blow.

Seeing as I won the two previous battles I turned to see a group of Dark and Ghost types watching me. They all had evil looks on their faces, not wild, but not good either.

"Crap!" I said to myself.

I BOLTED from there as fast as I could, there was NO way I could take on ten of them. No way at all.

I kept running and looked back to see them right behind me. Seems they were decka-teaming everyone they found. No fair.

Then I heard a voice that I will never forget because it saved my life.

"THERE! STOP THEM BEFORE THEY KILL THAT RIOLU!"

I turned to the voice and saw Scizor, Gallade and Glaceon leading a group of other Pokemon. The Gallade was pointing at the Pokemon chasing me. All of a sudden, a flurry of attacks were sent towards the Dark and Ghost-Types, I lunged out of the way and put my hands over my head as they all made collision, creating a large explosion. When it cleared, the Darks were on the ground, and the Ghosts were gone. I got up and eyed a Houndoom, who glared at me with pure hatred. Something told me he thought I lead him into a trap. The Houndoom staggered up and looked at me, but was knocked back down by a slam from the Scizor's claws on its head.

"You okay?" Asked the Gallade.

"Yeah." I replied. "Thanks."

"No problem." Said Glaceon. "They always single out Pokemon alone. It's their style."

There was a pause.

"Anyways, we gotta make sure there aren't any more rogues in the village. By the way, we saw how you fought the Mankey back there. We could use some more fighters in the guild... If you're interested."

They sprinted off and left some members to get rid of the passed out Pokemon that were defeated by the barrage of attacks from before. It seemed everything had died down, so I went back to my hut and fell back asleep.

Well, sort of. I tried to fall asleep, but still, that offer to join the guild was tempting. I mean, I needed SOMETHING to do while I was here. I was still thinking about how I got here, before I passed out in Rustboro, I heard those words... They sounded unearthly, but divine... Who was that?

Anyways, in the morning I had made my decision. I wanted to join the guild.

I stood in front of the huge temple. It had mossy stone bricks covering it. Pillars were rising from the ground to over 30 feet in the air. The golden statue of Arceus was in the middle. I was awestruck by the detail. Even renderings in the books I read in school weren't this elaborate.

After recovering from the visuals around me, I went inside.

The inside was much more breathtaking. It was a vast hall with polished marble pillars rising into the air, the floor was so clean you could see your reflection in it (Which, might I add, was still alien to me.) There were Pokemon around me, talking to each other. At the front of the Hall I saw a Luxray talking with Jake from earlier.

He looked up and saw me.

"May I help you?"

"Yeah. I want to join your guild." I said.

Jake turned around at the sound of my voice. When they saw me, they looked surprised.

"One does not walk into a guild and say they want to join." Said Luxray.

"He was recommended."

I turned and saw the Glaceon who told me to join the night before.

"By you?" Asked Luxray.

"Yeah. You should have seen him. Before he was cornered by Team Darkness, he fought hard."

"Oh?"

"He was using techniques I had never seen before."

Living in a big city will get you to pick up a thing or two.

"He is new to the village, yes?"

"I found him wandering the woods yesterday." Said Jake. "He was lost and confused."

"Where are you from?" Asked Luxray.

I thought about that. What would they say if I said I was transformed? Would they think I was crazy? I would have to wait out on that. I just calmly replied.

"Someplace in the woods. My parents were killed in an attack. They told me to run as far away as I could. Then Jake found me some hours later."

"Hm..." Said Luxray. "Any experience in fighting?"

"Some. I've gotten into small fights here and there, nothing too impressive."

"I see, so you are orphaned and have nowhere to go, is that correct?" 

"Yes."

"I think that you would be an excellent member." Said Luxray. "Welcome."

Jake looked back at Luxray. They seemed to be depressed.

"Do we have any teams available for him to join?"

"None right now, except him."

Glaceon looked to Jake.

"You finally have a partner, Jake. Congratulations. I will leave you two to get to know each other." He left the room for a few moments.

"I'm so glad you decided to join, when I found you out in that forest I just got that... Feeling that we would become friends, you know?"

There was a pause.

"What was your name again?" Asked Jake.

"Nathen." I replied. "So what missions does this team usually do?"

"We usually track down Team Darkness divisions and flush them out." Jake replied. "Though the attacks are getting more frequent. I wonder what's going on..."

"Okay. So has anybody returned from trying to track down the headquarters?"

"Nope. They are never heard from again." Jake said. "But I know my parents are gonna make it! They're the best in the guild!"

We continued talking about the village, future missions, and becoming a top ranked team in the guild's ranks for a mew minutes afterward. Jake was really enthusiastic about it. 

"I see you three are acquainted with each other." Said Luxray, walking back into the room. "Since the Riolu-"

"Nathen."

"Erm... Nathen, is new, so you will have to wait until he is fully trained. He will be put in a trainee class until he is ready. You will have to wait. You can temporarily join a different team until he is ready if you want to keep working." 

"I'll do that." Said Jake. "Good luck, Nathen!"

"Thanks." I said.

I was really nervous. _Really _nervous. I just hoped that the training will give me the strength I need to fight. I can't risk another attack, and actually getting killed. I need to find out how to fight more powerful enemies.

Let's just hope I do well with the training.

And I'll stop there! Next time I will be detailed in the arts of the Aura, and Nathen finds out some of his new abilities!


	3. I Have A Way With Kids

New chapter! I think I made a good decision in re-writing the story. Not that you care, you're probably skimming over this anyways.

So yeah, I read all of Silver Resistance (Look it up, b*tches) and realized I left out SO MUCH DETAIL. So I decided to rewrite the story, putting a Saga before the Saga I began writing in the old version. A reviewer of the previous story suggested I introduced too many major themes and ideas too early, and my mind expanded on how Nathen (I know it's spelled "Nathan" but I changed it. Believe me, Spell-check won't let me hear the end of it.) So, I hope you are enjoying the story more, and now, we dig deeper into Nathen's further abilities as a Riolu!

One. Whole. Week. Nonstop training, from sunrise to sundown. I was not prepared for something like that.

I felt tired, beaten, everything out of proportion, dizzy, and about to puke. Did I mention that was only the first day?

This was going to be a long week.

Rewinding to the beginning, I awoke with a splash of water on my face and I snapped awake.

"Hey, what the-"

I looked and saw it was still dark, the one who splashed water in my face was a Blastoise, accompanied by a Shiny Lucario.

"Get up. It's time to train." Said the Lucario.

"Wh-what?" I said, still waking up. "It's still light out!"

"Would you rather start in the blistering heat of the sun?"

It took me two seconds to wake all the way up and stand. It was still cool out, and I didn't want to overheat with my new fur coat. Still, if I had a clock, it would probably say it was around 4 AM. That is NOT natural for a guy like me.

They led me outside of the Village to a large field.

"Are you familiar with this place, Riolu?" Lucario asked.

I shook my head.

"This is the training grounds. Guild members use it to keep their edge in battle, and newer members use it to learn the basics of the guild. You will spend lots of time here, maybe more than in the guild itself."

Young Pokemon were already in the fields, some were still struggling to stay awake, while others were playing, as if they were used to it. But, then again, the energetic ones WERE nocturnal.

"ALRIGHT!" Bellowed Blastoise. Everyone who wasn't all the way awake snapped into reality and looked at him attentively. "We are now going to be organized into groups, you will be rotating throughout the day. Each group will get one hour's of rest. Conserve your energy, because today is going to be HOT."

There were about thirty of us in all. The groups were to have about five Pokemon in each of them.

Several members of the guild I saw the day before began picking Pokemon for their groups, Lucario looked straight at me and walked over.

"I do not train regularly, but since you are different from other Pokemon, being the only kind who can detect the Aura in the Village besides me, I was asked to help you personally. You will be trained away from the others, because their presences might be distracting."

I was pretty disapointed, because I wanted to meet some more Pokemon.

"Don't worry, you will be able to meet the others during breaks. Yours will be more frequent. I tend to be more... Intense."

Gulp.

We trained on the other side of the field. Lucario started me off with laps and stretching, something I was used to from P.E. back at home. Then the real training began.

I'll try and summarize what happened over the first few hours after the warm ups in a few short words; I was panting on the ground in exhaustion and pain.

Lucario had already began trying to exploit my fighting abilities. He was fully trained, not some wild from the forest who relies on flailing his arms for protection. Lucario was sparring with me, throwing punches in every direction possible. (I think one even hit me from behind, but I think I was hallucinating) Overall, every time I'd try and block one, he would swoop in for another punch and catch me somewhere I least expected it.

"Concentrate! Anticipate my attacks! You are an Aura Pokemon, use your abilities!"

Eventually, I was thrown on the ground. Now I knew why he was not a usual trainer.

"Did your parents teach you anything?" Lucario said, frustrated.

"They died before they had the chance." I lied.

"Oh." Lucario said. "I guess... We will have to start from the beginning, then."

He lightened up a bit after that. He taught me about meditating, how it would improve my abilities. How I should concentrate on my environment and get a feel to it. It was really relaxing, heck, it sharpened my senses.

"I feel your aura relaxing, young one." Said Lucario. "How do you feel?"

"I see the vague shapes of everything around me with my eyes closed... It's really weird."

"Excellent! You are what we call "tuned". Where all six of your senses are sharpened." (A/N: The sixth one is Aura, for those who didn't know) "You are in what is known as 'Battle Stage One.'"

"What is that?" I asked.

"Battle stages are the measurements of the level Riolu and Lucario are in tune with the Aura. The higher the battle stage, the more Aura is at your disposal, and the more powerful attacks can be unleashed. When you are capable of reaching Battle Stage Three, you will evolve into a Lucario."

I nodded, this was beginning to make sense.

"It will be difficult for you to skip from one to another, so you will have to move up in order. You will eventually be able to get to any Battle Stage with little effort or concentration. A little trick to get you out of trouble if you come face-to-face with a more powerful enemy.

Over the course of this week, our goal will be to get you to reach Battle Stage Two. I'll also teach you on how to sense enemies hiding out of sight, detecting traitors among your friends, and beginning Aura Manipulation."

"That sounds like a lot." I said.

"That barely makes a dent in what you can do with the Aura!" Lucario replied. "Aura is our very state of being! If you master it completely, you can do anything!"

Anything, huh? Mastering the Aura could be my ticket home. I just had to figure out what I needed to do, and how long it would take.

"What are some extremely advanced Aura abilities?" I asked.

"Curious, are you? I only know of a few. I know you can use it to fly, tele-comunicate... Hmm... Ah! Also manipulate weaker minds into doing your bidding, and I _believe, _if you are really advanced, you can go as far as altering your or another's physical form, temporarily, of course."

All of a sudden, a million thoughts appeared through my head. Tele-communication? Flying? Transforming? If I mastered all this stuff, I could go back home.

"How long does it take to learn these things?"

"Years."

I kept a straight face, but inside I was devastated. I guess I wasn't getting home anytime soon.

"Disappointed you won't be able to learn the fun stuff until later? Heh, I know exactly how you feel. When I was young, I was sad, too. I'm still learning those four abilities... Heck, I tried the transforming ability and accidentally turned Glaceon into a Magikarp for tree days. She's still got a grudge on me because of that. Still won't talk to me."

I chuckled. I wondered why none of these things were ever heard of in Pokemon Training? Maybe Trainers hold their Lucarios back or something...

"All right. The first step to Battle Stage Two is basic Aura Manipulation. Manifesting it into a physical form, like this."

Lucario focused, and a blue light appeared in his paws, a flash of light later, he was holding a Bone Staff, one of the attacks a Riolu and Lucario can learn.

"Aura can be manifested into a physical form. Make it feel like clay and mold it into any physical form you need. A projectile, like an Aura sphere, a shield, or a handheld weapon."

"Wow..." I said. "That's amazing."

"Try. All you have to do is feel the Aura, and then imagine it as a physical item that you can hold. It helps if you are familiar with the object you are trying to mimic."

I closed my eyes, and saw everything around me, more clearly. I guess because I was learning more about it, I was getting a better background as to how it was used.

Next, I imagined it as something I did in school, a relatively unpopular activity I was interested in. Where you use strategy to get around your opponent and got in a hit. Yeah, I was into fencing.

I imagined the Aura forming into a sword, I felt it forming, I felt it growing in my hand, sharpening, YES! I was doing it! And then, it fizzled out on me and disappeared.

We stood in silence, then I finally said;

"You gotta be kidding me."

"No, no! That was better than I expected! I didn't even think it was going to appear in you paws even for a split second, but you managed to hold it for about five. We'll keep working on it."

We devoted the rest of the period to summoning the physical Aura, by the end of the hour, I was mentally exhausted. Lucario saw that I was about to pass out in exhaustion.

"BREAK!" Shouted Blastoise from across the feild.

I heard dozens of sighs in relief as the trainees went to play in the middle of the field.

"Go join them, you earned it." Lucario said with a smile.

I was really beginning to like this guy.

Kids, plus wild animal instincts, equals chaos.

No, you have NO idea how chaotic it was in there. Picture an elementary school class on five six pounds of sugar per kid. Then multiply that times one hundred. That is _about_ the level of energy these young Pokemon had. The sighs of relief were not because they were tired, but because they were bored, and wanted to have fun. I thought about how Blastoise was saying "conserve your energy". Obviously he didn't know how energetic young Pokemon were. At this rate, they would run out of energy when Hell freezes over, melts, and then becomes a paradise. Basically, it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

They were running around, playing, shouting, screaming, and whooping, having a lot of fun. It wore me out just watching them. Now I know how my parents felt when I was four.

I was bumped into from behind.

"What the heck?" I said.

I turned around and saw a small Bulbasaur hit me from behind. She was giving me an evil, playful grin.

"You're it!" She said before scampering off.

Just then, about ten other Pokemon gasped and backed away, apparently in the game as well.

"RUN! RIOLU'S IT! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" A Piplup screamed before diving behind a Tepig.

"Hey! Don't use me as a meat shield!" Said Tepig.

I chuckled at the unintentional joke.

I remembered when I was human, I went to the park once, then this random two-year old walked up to me and started to play with me. I chased him around and did all those little baby games to amuse him. It was so cute... (What? Guys aren't allowed to say "cute?") Anyways, the kid's Mom watched us, and said I had a way with kids.

That feeling was coming back to me. Because all the major things in my life were miserable, I looked to the simpler pleasures to make myself feel better. It gave me a more confident outlook on things. It was like I had met that two year old over again, and he had about two dozen friends.

I laughed as I joined in. I chased after the Piplup and dived straight over the Tepig for a better shot. I landed right on top of him, and stamped him on the head with my right paw.

"You're it." I said.

The Piplup just sat there as I rolled off of him. For a second I thought I hurt him, then...

"Nya!" He popped up from where he was sitting and charged straight at me.

"NO TAGBACKS!" I said at the last second. The Piplup stopped and looked at me questioningly.

"What's that?" He asked innocently.

"It means if I call it out after tagging you, you can't tag me back." I said.

"Oh, darn!" He said, then he scampered after a nearby Oshawott.

"I see you're having fun."

I turned around and saw Crystal and Jake watching me.

"You seem to get along with the little ones." Crystal said.

"I have a way with kids." I said, puffing out my chest.

"Heh. So, how's it going with the training?"

"It's exhausting, I'm learning how to control the Aura, and fight better than just relying on getting lu-"

The Piplup tackled me before I could finish the sentance.

"You're it!" 

"But I just tagged you!"

"Not me..."

There was a flash of pink light, and on top of me was a Zorua.

"Got you!" She said, laughing as she ran off to join the group again. Crystal and Jake both burst out laughing.

"Zoruas, man they are good pranksters." Jake said.

"Those kids are hard to handle." Crystal said. "Everyone in the guild finds them annoying, because it's so serious in there. How come you don't find them annoying?"

"I guess Aura lets me figure out what people are interested in, I could practically get along with anybody. It was a trait I had before..." I trailed off.

"Before what?" Jake asked.

"Nothing."

"Hmm... Okay..."

Man, that was close. I almost told them I was human, then they would think I was crazy.

"Nathen, are you read to resume?"

Lucario walked over and folded his arms.

"Yeah." 

"I see the kids were enjoying you." Lucario said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. They're pretty funny." I said.

"That Zorua pretended to be you and came up to me. Almost had me fooled, but I sensed it wasn't you. I am surprised you were unable to detect that she took the form of that Piplup."

"I was kind of focused on my conversation with my future teammates." I said, gesturing to Crystal and Jake.

"Understandable for a beginner. Come on, we have much to do."

And that's where I'll stop for today. This chapter was fun to write, especially when Nathen was interacting with the young Pokemon.

I went through a lot of thought on how Riolus and Lucarios have control over Aura, and I finally settled on inventing some new abilities they can learn and the Battle Stages. You have NO idea how long it took for me to figure that out.

The next chapter will be more training, then soon, the missions! Oh, I am so exited!

Until next time...


	4. Someone Impersonates My Teacher's Lover

Training continued on. For about two more days I had been struggling on trying to manifest my Aura powers into a physical form.

Then, Lucario tried a different tactic. Without warning, he summoned his staff and lunged at me. After dodging some swings from sidestepping, he wouldn't stop. He wanted to see if I could block it. He kept coming, I dodged, dipped, dived, and jumped to get out of the way. Then something snapped.

It was annoying me. My rage was building. I wanted it to stop. I wanted to end it. I backed up, and used my adrenaline as fuel for my intentions. I held out my hand and focused once more, and finally, it happened.

A sword made out of shimmering blue light took form in my hands. I clutched it and blocked the Bone Staff Lucario was advancing at me with. He kept trying to drill through it, to test whether it would disappear, but it stayed. Satisfied, Lucario retreated.

"Excellent! You can summon an Aura weapon! But I am surprised at what you are using for your weapon... Most Riolus choose the Bone Staff, your pick is... Unusual."

_More unusual than you think, buddy... _I thought.

It was getting to be evening that day. Glaceon was walking nearby and Lucario saw her, I had the feeling he had a crush on her.

"Hah... Just look at her, her ears billowing in the wind. She's just so breathtaking." He said.

"You made some significant progress today. You can leave early." Lucario said, then he went in pursuit of Glaceon.

I turned around and began to walk back to my hut. I caught Crystal and Jake hanging out outside of a building in the market.

"Hey guys!" I said as I approached them. "How are you?"

"Things went better. Not as hard as yesterday." Said Jake. "Why are you out so early?"

"Lucario let me go early because he had some... Business to attend to."

"Oh, cool!"

They were sitting at a small table outside a large brick chateau.

"This is the best place for food in the village. It's really popular."

"What's it called?" 

"The Miltank Bar." Crystal said. "She's an awesome cook. I love the food here."

Looking around, I saw the place was packed. It seemed like half of Hidden Village was here.

"Sit down!" Jake said.

I sat down and had a lot of fun. The food was delicious, fried Oran Berries with a sauce made of "secret ingredients" and Pecha Berry Juice. When all the sweet food was downed, my energy felt completely refreshed.

"So, how was it?" Crystal asked.

"Amazing! That's the best stuff I ever tasted!" I replied enthusiastically.

We began exploring the markets, I finally got more familiar with the village, most Pokemon either owned shops or worked at the Luxray Guild to make money, and then they blew the money for food, supplies, and decorations for their houses. It was a simple life, much more simple than my human life, I loved it.

"So how long will it be before you can join the two of us?" Asked Jake after about an hour of walking around the village.

"A few more days, last time I checked." I said.

The sun was beginning to set. The purple streaks in the sky became more noticeable at night. The sunset was beautiful in the valley. This was the first real time I got to see anything as detailed at this. I was really impressed with the sights. The Village was beautiful, the plants and flowers growing on the sides of the roads, blue flames burning on torches to light the place, which seemed to know exactly when to light at night, and the friendly chattering of the Pokemon talking to their friends. The place was peaceful, simple, and colorful. Not like the city back at home. Everything there was complicated and grey, the complete opposite of this.

We walked around a while. Crystal and Jake talking to me about some of their best adventures in the guild, I realized many of the missions they went on yielded large rewards, and battle experience. Each mistake they made they learned from, and never made again. For a small team, they knew how to operate like an army. It was really interesting to hear some of their strategies and combos, combining each other's abilities to defeat their enemies.

It became nighttime, and most of the day Pokemon were going to bed. Night Pokemon were beginning to come out. Crystal and Jake said goodbye as they went back home to go to bed, I did the same.

I was exhausted from walking around the second half of the day, and when I hit the bed, I practically passed out.

I dreamed I was in the middle of town square in nighttime.

I was walking around aimlessly when I saw Luxray, Lucario, and Blastoise walking in my direction. It felt so real, maybe Riolus and Lucarios can do these sorts of things when they dream? 

"Yes, I believe it is true." Luxray said.

"Are you sure, sir?" Asked Blastoise. "Nobody could do such a thing, it is impossible."

"I would have known if a traitor was in our ranks, Luxray." Said Lucario. "I would have sensed it in a heartbeat." 

"I would believe you, Lucario, but you have made mistakes before. And it is not a traitor, it is an impostor."

"How do you know this, anyway?"

"When Team Darkness attacked the other night, I heard Houndoom discussing with his comrades about replacing one of our guild members. As a spy. Until that impostor is revealed, the guild will be on lockdown. No missions or planning, just guarding the village. Blastoise, as head of the Defense division, strengthen the guards on the borders and make sure nobody gets in or comes out."

"Yes sir."

"And Lucario, I want you to be extra-attentive on the members. Any one of them could indeed be a traitor."

"As you wish, sir."

"Very good. Our strategy meetings will be just between the three of us, instead of the entire council. Once again, no missions until this impostor is caught and brought to justice. This meeting is adjourned."

"Thank you, sir." Blastoise and Lucario said in unision."

Luxray and Blastoise walked away, while Lucario stayed behind.

"Dream Watching already, Nathen? I'm impressed you have come this far so fast." Lucario said, looking directly at me. "I know you cannot help it, but you will soon learn to control it. I will ask you this, train harder. You and I tomorrow will be focusing on sensing an individual's intentions or their identity. The Zorua you met earlier will aid you in this training. I bid you a good night."

He walked away, and my sleep continued.

I woke up _right _before Blastoise was about to spray me with water, so that I had enough time to jump out of the way before he could drench me. I got in a defensive position and crouched down, looking straight at him. Blastoise smiled.

"Lucario is teaching you well." He said. "Come. It is time to continue training."

The usual sight of the sun barely rising in the distance marked the beginning of the day. I became more used to the routine, spending most of my time getting myself into gear, more specifically, Battle Stage 1.

Lucario was talking to Blastoise and had a Ditto, and the Zorua I met before next to him. I knew they were part of today's training.

The three came over to me and Lucario spoke up.

"Today we are going to focus on detecting impostors." Lucario said. "Ditto and Zorua have volunteered to help me in this task."

"We get to play hide and seek!" Zorua said playfully.

"I hope I am of help to you." Said Ditto.

"These two will take the form of me, we will all spread out and hide. It is your job to find the real me by using your sensing. By the end of the day you will be able to do it without even trying."

"Close your eyes and count to fifty!" Said Zorua. "And no peeking!" 

"Okay." I said.

I closed my eyes.

"And try not to see our auras moving away from you." Said Lucario, "That would make things much easier to you."

I turned around and focused on my past and tried not to think about the Aura, I began to count, and when I reached fifty, I opened my eyes, turned around, and saw the three were nowhere to be found.

Closing my eyes and bringing myself to Battle Stage 1, I saw three paths mixing around in front of me, then they all shot off in three different directions. I decided to start with the one on the left. It lead straight through the group of kids and went into a clearing in the forest. I saw a Lucario resting by a tree, but when I focused on his Aura, I saw that it was Zorua casting an illusion around herself. I scratched her off the list and followed the second path, which seemed to be next to the third. I came my way to Miltank's bar and saw _two _Lucarios sitting calmy in the middle table.

"Ah, traced our paths?" One said.

"But which of us is the real one?" The other said in the exact same voice.

Focusing again, I saw two Lucarios in the Aura, then I tried something else.

I had the instinct to rewind what happened. It was strange, I saw the ghosts of Lucario and Ditto sitting down on the table, Lucario on the left. Ditto on the right. Ditto then transformed and copied Lucario's aura completely. I came back into reality.

"Lucario's on the left." I said simply.

"Correct!" They said in unison.

Ditto changed back and Lucario acknowledged me for identifying him.

"So, what did you think of that training exercise?" Lucario asked.

"It was fun." I said.

"Good, because we're doing it again."

We continued the exercise throughout the day, and we finally stopped around evening. Not catching a single break, I was using more Aura than my first day, but my energy was not as drained. My body was getting used to the exercises. By the last time we did the exercise, I was able to figure out the fake Lucario without using the rewinding technique.

Lucario dismissed me and I played another round of tag with the younger trainees (Who dragged me into it against my will) and headed back to the guild.

On the way back to the guild, I saw Glaceon walking by herself in the opposite direction towards me.

"Hey Glaceon!" I said. "How are you?"

She looked at me in alarm and started to hurry back.

"Wait up! What's going on?"

I caught up with her and put my paw on her shoulder to stop her. We were in the main hall of the guild. Blue fire burning in torches hanging from the ceiling, the mossy green bricks reflecting the blue light cast an eerie glow across the hall. When my paw touched her, I saw someone different in her place, someone who should not have been here, or her, for that matter. Someone that Luxray was warning his Blastoise and Lucario about the night before.

I had caught the impostor.

She was a Zoroark, who transformed into Glaceon. I was speechless. Realizing what had happened, she jumped backward and got into a defensive position. Her form shimmered and she turned back into the Pokemon she was impersonating.

"So, a child has found me. I did not expect someone as pathetic as you to discover me."

"You wooed Lucario to distract him so he couldn't tell who you were, didn't you?" I said.

"Yes. I also made him fall in love with me so he could give me information about the guild's plans so we could counter them, and sweep the guild away like a pile of dust!"

There was a pause, neither of us moved.

"I suppose that now I told you my plans, I should just kill you, and say _you _were the impostor, and say I had to kill you because I found you out. It is all too easy, since you have showed up precisely the time I captured the real Glaceon, the guild would believe me."

I summoned my Aura sword and aimed it at her, bringing myself into BS1.

(A/N: The battle stages are going to be abbreviated from now on.)

"I won't let you pass off any information to Team Darkness about the guild." I said.

"You and what army!" Zoroark/Glaceon laughed.

The fight was on.

**CLIFFHANGER! I KNOW, I'M A JERK, BUT HEY, THE BOOKS I READ DO IT ALL THE TIME.**

**THE FAN-ART CONTEST IS STILL ON, AND THANKS TO SOMETHING DICTIONARY RELATED FOR HIS REVIEW, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME MORE FROM EVERYBODY READING THIS SO I KNOW WHAT TO IMPROVE ON. AND IF YOU LIKE THIS, SHOW IT TO SOME OF YOUR FRIENDS TO HELP THIS STORY GAIN SOME POPULARITY! THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP LATER TODAY OR THIS WEEK!  
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**UNTIL NEXT TIME...**


	5. I Win My First Fight To The Death

We stood there, waiting for the other to make the first move. The cool, night air blowing in our faces, the moon casting a white light through the pillars of the guild, Glaceon's impostor and I were staring at each other.

Glaceon made the first move by blowing icy winds at me. Blizzard. I was chilled to the bone, and the snow slowed me down.

"W-W-Wait..." I said. "I th-th-ought Zoroarks can't use the moves of the Pokemon they become... I thought they were just illusions..."

"If you're a novice!" Glaceon said. "I am a master of these powers, and I can copy anything I take the form of!"

There as a _lot_ humans didn't know about Pokemon.

She charged at me and headbutted me right in the stomach, sending me flying into a pillar. I ran up to her and jumped out of the way of another blizzard. I charged at her and swung my Aura sword, she cried out in pain as bright blue streaks appeared across her.

_Why didn't it chop her to pieces? _I thought. _Maybe they just drain her energy? Whatever, it seems to be working on her. _

"Now I'm mad!" She shouted as she disappeared from view, I felt her zip around to behind me at blinding speeds, but before I could retaliate, she collided with me with a Quick Attack, and knocked me over. The jumped on top of me and grinned evilly, showing her razor-sharp teeth.

"I'm gonna enjoy this!" She said as she prepared an ice beam to fire at me point blank.

Without warning, I rolled and she fell off of me, I got up and darted at her, smacking my shoulder into her head. She stumbled backwards and cried out in pain. I raced in again and got a few more slashes in on her before she flipped backward a few times.

"Die!" She cried as she fired ice beams into the air, and created sharp icicles, which she sent flying at me. I dodged the first two, and used the third and fourth ones as a spring to get into the air. I raised my Aura sword over my head and used gravity as my momentum to deliver the final blow. I dived in straight towards her, but before I landed, she fired another Ice Beam right at me. I felt ice grow all around me, and I found myself completely immobilized. The only thing outside of the ice was my nose, which was the only thing that was keeping me from suffocating.

"Ha! Did you think you could actually stop a fully-trained member of Team Darkness?" She said. "How pathetic, a rookie like you thought you could take on someone as experienced as me! That's the funniest thing I have ever seen!"

Then I got angry. Something inside me snapped. How dare she insult me like that? How could she replace someone so respected by everyone in the village! How could she rub my defeat in my face and not pay for it!

I felt something happen in my body, aura from everything around me was drawn into me, I felt a new power growing in my body. The ice that was my prison began to glow and shimmer, I felt it expanding. A blast of blue light filled the room, and I felt the ice explode off of me. I was free, my Aura sword in my hand, I felt new power pulsing through me. My instincts kicked in again, I de-summoned my Aura Sword and clutched my paws together and brought them apart. I felt an orb grow in them, expanding, filled with power.

Aura Sphere.

Glaceon stood before me in shock at what had just happened. I was preparing to fire it at her when I heard a voice shout at me.

"NATHEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

I looked and saw a _very _angry Lucario at the doorstep of the guild's man hall.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He bellowed again. Glaceon smiled.

"He attacked me, Lucario! Oh, it was so terrible! I need help! I think I am injured!"

"WHAT?" I screamed. "YOU'RE THE IMPOSTOR! YOU ATTACKED _ME!"_

"ENOUGH!" Shouted Lucario. "Nathen, what in your right _mind _made you think to attack her?"

"I told you! She's the one who is infiltrating the guild!" 

"I will not believe such a ridiculous story!" Said Lucario. "Glaceon is a good lady, and she would not let anyone replace her so easily!" 

"Lucario, tell him! And make sure he pays for what he did to me!" She shot me a look, as if to say, _Your'e gonna get it now, buddy._

Lucario charged at me, his Bone Staff at hand. I leaped out of the way countered it with my Aura Sword, we clashed.

"Remember in Town Square, Luxray said you had made mistakes before, and that is _exactly _why he wanted me to know how to find traitors and impostors?"

I backed away, Lucario charged at me in pure rage.

"And when you said that strong emotions could blind your senses on our first day of training?" I said, pausing every couple of words to block his powerful attacks.

"Don't you realize what is happening? She's using your love for her as protection! She told me everything! Use your power! You know I am telling the truth, you just don't want to believe it!"

I felt him falter for a split second, then he turned around to face her. The room was silent.

"Don't believe him! He's lying!" Said Glaceon in alarm.

Lucario was focusing. He opened his eyes and looked at Glaceon in pure hatred.

"He's right." Said Lucario. "You are an impostor."

Glaceon looked at us both in alarm. Lucario summoned his Bone Staff again and I summoned my Aura Sword.

"Hmm... I guess my disguise is no longer needed."

Her image shifted and changed back into a Zoroark. She grinned evilly and charged at us with her claws drawn.

"I was unfamiliar with the Glaceon's Body, this is my full power!"

Everything happened so fast. She would flash her claws in one direction and we would block, she would come with even more attacks, eventually, they got into a clash and Zoroark finally scraped at Lucario's face. He collapsed to the ground in pain. Zoroark looked to me.

"One down..."

The ran straight at me and got ready to swipe at my chest. Those claws were so sharp, they looked as if they could slice me in half without even trying.

"...One to go."

I jumped backwards as her claws swiped where I stood before, they collided in a huge purple "X". She swiped so hard that her claws broke into the tiles on the floor, and got stuck. She struggled to pull them out, but I jumped and landed on her was a loud "crack!" as I heard her gasp as the wind was knocked out of her, and she collapsed, unconscious.

"That ought to teach you to mess with us." I said.

I ran over to Lucario, his face was covered in blood, and his eye was damaged beyond repair.

"N...Nathen... You did it..." He said with a weak smile. "That was... Battle Stage 2... You reached it and beat her... Congradulations, and sorry for not believing you..."

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF ARCEUS THE CREATOR HAPPENED IN HERE?"

I looked and saw Luxray and Blastoise at the front of the hall, with most of the guild's members behind him.

"I found the impostor." I said. "A Zoroark impersonating Glaceon, Lucario and I took her out."

"Mainly Nathen..." Lucario Quietly said.

Everyone's eyes darted straight at me.

"You?" Asked Luxray.

I remained silent.

Luxray took a closer look at Lucario.

"Chansey! Audino! Tend to his wounds immediately!"

Two pink Pokemon rushed out of the group and ran over to Lucario. They helped him up and walked him over to a room nearby, where they shut the door. I was alone, all the attention of the guild on me.

"Is this true?" He said.

I retold the whole story from when I found Glaceon in the Town Square.

"...I knocked her out, and that's when you guys showed up." I said, finishing my story.

"I see." Luxray said. "Well, seeing as you took down one of the most notorious members of Team Darkness single-handedly, I believe we can cut your training schedule short, and allow you to join Crystal and Jake on their missions."

I saw Crystal and Jake push their way through the crowd and look at me with respect.

"Once Lucario recovers, he will continue to train you, but not as frequently, as you will be on missions with the Paladins Team."

Chansey and Audino walked out of the medical room.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He lost his left eye." Chansey said sadly. "We gave him some herbs for the infection, but he will need to wear an eyepatch from this point forward."

"Understandable." Luxray said. "Take the Zoroark to the dungeons. Make sure _nobody _falls for her tricks to escape."

Blastoise nodded and moved towards Zoroark, who stirred, unhooked her claws from the shattered rock, and looked at me.

"No... I will not be insulted by A CHILD!" She screamed as she charged at me, fire in her eyes. She wanted me _dead. _

Out of nowhere, there was a blast of blue electricity. It collided with her, when the blast ended, she was smoking, before collapsing to the ground once more. I looked to the source to see Luxray.

"That's why you're the boss." Blastoise said with a chuckle as he dragged Zoroark to a flight of stairs, not caring that her head was hitting each step as he dragged her down.

"Nathen, you have had a trying night. Since your first assignment will be tomorrow at dawn, I suggest you get your rest. I bid you a good night, and congratulations on your victory. Everyone, get back to bed."

The entire guild was dismissed. Nobody said anything, we just all silently went back to our huts and went back to sleep.

**THAT WAS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE CHAPTER SO FAR, WHAT ABOUT YOU? TELL ME IN THE REVIEWS ABOUT THE DESCRIPTIONS! ALSO, I _WILL _BE CHANGING THIS STORY'S RATING TO "T" FOR THOSE WHO CARE. ANYWAYS, LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER THIS SATURDAY!**

**UNTIL NEXT TIME...**


	6. Sawk Brings the Pain

**FIIIILLLLLEEEERRRR!**

**MUSICAL WRITING AID: UPSIDE DOWN (ITALO BROTHERS) **

**Give it a listen!**

**Anyways, I apologize for being dead for a couple months, I had been stuck with some serious writers block, so I decided to throw a bit of filler in to let you know I'm not abandoning this story yet. **

**So anyways, I like Riolus, and I like Snivys, but which is best? There's only one way to find out...**

**FFFFIIIIIIIGGGGGGHHHHTTTTT!**

My training was completed, I had beaten Zoroark and got her jailed, and I was popular in town. How long had I been there? Oh yeah, only two weeks.

Jake and I were becoming really close friends, too. He was impressed with the way I revealed the impostor. Lucario was somewhat proud, but I could tell he still didn't know where Glaceon was, he felt more distant from us.

I had been thinking for a while about Aaron and my family. My parents were never very close to me because of my choices to not become a trainer, but my brother, Damian had always been there for me. He was only two years older than I was, he is currently on a big tour, traveling to all the regions. I'm sure he bolted home when he found out about my disappearance.

Still, Jake and I were a full-fledged team, we were taking on missions day after day, saving Pokemon, going to other towns, meeting and getting familiar with everything there was to know about the island. I was really beginning to fit in with everything.

Anyways, Jake and I were walking in the market when we saw a poster on the side of one of the buildings.

ANNUAL FIGHTING TOURNAMENT!

HOSTED BY SAWK, THE MARTIAL ARTS MASTER!

SIGN UP TODAY!

"I remember watching this last year." Jake said. "The best fighters from all over the island come out to compete. The prize is 15000 Poke... But it is getting boring now, a Legendary enters every year and winds up flattening the competition..."

"Is that even allowed?" I asked.

"Who's gonna stop him? He's more powerful than any fighter on the island."

"What Legendary is it?"

"Heatran." Jake replied. "He has been undefeated for ten years now. It's insane the way he fights. They have to build a new arena each year."

"How does the tournament work?"

"Groups of Pokemon of about six are placed in an arena for a battle royale, then the winners of each are put in a bigger arena and fight until one is left standing."

I looked back at the poster, and remembered something Lucario told me.

_Riolus and Lucarios are special. Each fight they participate in they become stronger faster than anybody else. Fight as many Pokemon as you can, eventually you will become unstoppable._

"Unstoppable, eh?" I said.

"What's that?" Jake asked.

"Nothing." I replied. "I just want to enter the tournament.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?"

Lucario looked at me like I was the most insane person on the planet.

"YOU'VE ONLY BEEN TRAINING FOR WEEKS NOW! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU WILL BE ABLE TO STAND UP IN FRONT OF SOME OF THE POKEMON WHO ENTER?"

"Lucario, I remember you telling me I will get stronger each fight. This tournament could really give me a boost."

Lucario shook his head. "No, I won't allow you to enter! You're going to get yourself killed!" 

"I'm entering. So what if I lose? It will still help my fighting. If I go up against more Pokemon stronger than I am it will teach me strategy and new abilities. Ever heard of learning on the job?"

Lucario turned around. "Fine, do what you will, but if you wind up seriously hurt, don't say I didn't warn you."

So I was entered. Jake, after a lot of persuasion, decided to enter, too. We spent most of our time taking the more difficult missions and training hard so we could be prepared. Heatran was going down.

And the tournament rolled around. We were nervous, but confident all the more.

We walked to the front desk of the entrance center in front of the large arena. It looked to be made out of stone.

"How may I help you?" Asked the Gothitelle behind the desk.

"We would like to enter the tournament." I replied.

She leaned over the desk and looked at us. "Kids?" She chuckled. "A couple of kids want to enter the tournament? How cute."

"Can you just put our names down?" I asked.

"Look kid." She said. "I know you want to enter, but this is for your own safety. Some of the Pokemon who enter show no mercy when they fight, many don't fight again. I say come back when you are a little further evolved, now then, run back to your-"

"Miss Gothitelle? What are you doing?"

I looked and saw a strange human-like Pokemon with blue skin, and a white ghi with a black belt tied around it.

"Mister Sawk... Hello, sir."

"Are you turning down a couple of entries?" He asked her.

"Yes, sir, they are too young and-"

"There are no age regulations, if I recall." He said, winking at us. "And I think that they are tougher than they look."

Gothitelle blinked. "Y-Yes, sir."

He looked at us and smiled.

"Good luck to the both of you."

He walked off, and Gothitelle looked back at us.

"I'm going to need your names."

We were entered and sent to the contestant's tent, where everyone in the tournament went before their groups were called. The Heatran that I heard about was standing in the middle, harassing a Chimchar.

"You call yourself a fire-type? He said, laughing. "Look, kid, this is the third year now you have tried to take me out. I like your persistence and all that, but you are never going to get as strong as me. Just give it a rest and leave while you have some dignity left. Okay?"

"Scared that I might have gotten up to your level?" The Chimchar asked. "Afraid that I might overthrow your winning streak?"

"Ha! As if, kid. You wouldn't scare me if you were fully evolved." He said, laughing.

The Chimchar walked away with an annoyed look on her face.

"That was Regan." Said Jake. "She's been Heatran's rival ever since she first entered the tournament. Heatran faced off against her in the final two and humiliated her by using only half his power."

I looked at her, she had small scars on her face which made her look even more intimidating than any other Pokemon in the tent.

"She wants to stay small so she will be harder to hit and quick on the battlefield, so she never evolves." Jake said.

"You ever think about evolving, Jake?" I asked.

"A bit, but becoming a Serperior would mean losing my arms and legs. I don't think I'll evolve past Servine. You?"

I never really thought about it. Lucario were well-respected and powerful. "Yeah." I said. "I think I will."

Jake nodded. "Cool!"

A Throh walked into the tent with a slip of paper.

"Okay," He said. "The first group will be... Snivy, Foongus, Charmeleon, Mienshao, and Treeko. Come along, you will be in the arena in ten minutes!" 

Jake looked at me, "I'm up first..." He said, worried.

"Don't worry." I replied, slapping him on the back. "You'll do fine."

"Everyone to the competitor's zone for spectating in the arena!"

The rest of the competitors were stationed on the front ring surrounding the arena. The whole thing was built into the side of the valley, clay bricks lined the outside of the arena, and a large dirt floor was on the bottom for the competitors. A sign was flashing right under where the leaders of the village were, including Lucario, Sawk, and Luxray, saying _The _

_10th Annual Sawk Tournament!_

_Watch competitors get their butts kicked_

_by Heatran!_

"That's a bit one-sided." The Chimchar from before said as she sat down next to me.

"That's what I was thinking." I said.

"That's about to change, though," She said. "I'm gonna be the first to beat him." 

She extended her hand out to me.

"I'm Regan." She said. "You?" 

"Nathen," I replied.

"Nice to meet you." She said. "I'm from Ashtown on top of the volcano. I heard that a Riolu beat a Zoroark from Team Darkness. Was that you?"

I nodded.

"Man, you must be strong. I can't wait to see you in action."

She turned and looked to the leader's box. "Oh! They're about to start!"

Something seemed suspicious about her, but I shrugged it off. Sawk got up from his chair, waved at the crowd, and said with his booming voice;

"Let the tournament begin!"

He motioned towards the floor of the arena, immediately, five doors from around the arena opened and each Pokemon ran out and looked around at each other, as if to figure out who's going to be their first victims.

"When I blow this whistle, you may begin!" Sawk exclaimed. "Three, two, one," _TWEEEEEEEEEET!_

Immediately almost each Pokemon in the arena erupted with their most powerful attacks. Jake seemed to be playing it defensively, as the Charmeleon and Mienshao began combining their attacks and immediately finished off the Foongus before he had a chance to retaliate.

"They're pretty strong..." Regan said, observing them.

"One down, four to go! Who will win this round?" Boomed Sawk's voice across the arena.

Treeko and Jake seemed to be gravitating towards each other. I could see their lips moving, but over the cheering of the crowd, I couldn't her what they were saying. But, I soon saw what they agreed over when they stood side-by-side against Charmeleon and Mienshao. They stared at each other for a while. The crowd fell silent as they tried to intimidate one another.

"It seems that two alliances have been made. Who will be victorious?" 

Charmeleon made the first move against Jake. He dodged Charmeleon's flamethrower barely, but it caught the end of his tail, it was slightly burnt, but he ignored it. He twirled around and let a storm of leaves straight at Charizard. Treeko saw what Jake was doing and unleashed a Razor Leaf right into the Leaf Tornado and powered it up. Charizard was surprised as the attack flew towards him in blinding speeds. His wings were caught in the quick wind and it sent him flying into the air, he smashed into the wall of the arena and passed out. Treeko and Jake hi-fived and turned to Mienshao. She was absolutely stunned at what had happened to her ally, but snapped out of it and immediately let loose a flurry of kicks at Treeko. He was caught by surprise and was hit several times. Mienshao finally reared back for a focus punch and let it loose, but not before Jake intervened, catching Mienshao's fist with a Vine-Whip, and held it back.

Mienshao struggled against the vines but found it useless, but with one free hand, she punched Treeko one more time under his jaw. Treeko wobbled for a few seconds, but then leaped into the air, flipped, and threw his tail straight on top of her head. It was a lucky shot, because she immediately passed out afterwards. Treeko touched down and wobbled once more, looked to Jake, gave him a thumbs up, then collapsed to the ground.

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the winner of group one, Jake, the Snivy!" Sawk exclaimed.

The crowd erupted into a massive frenzy of cheers. Luxray looked stunned, but satisfied. Lucario was absolutely flabbergasted, and Sawk was looking at Gothitelle with a smirk, as if to say; _See? I TOLD you these kids were tougher than they looked._

"I would like for the remaining competitors to return to the tent outside while the medical staff tends to the eliminated. Good luck to the next group, and congratulations to our first finals qualifier!"

All the competitors got up and walked back to the tent. Jake was stunned after what had happened.

"Jake, that was awesome!" I said. "You were amazing in that arena!"

"Not really..." He said. "I just protected Treeko and fired that leaf Tornado at the Charizard. I was really just waiting everything out."

"Good strategy." Said Regan, walking behind us, "But it won't work in the final round. Heatran always goes for the weakest Pokemon first."

The second and third rounds went by, with a Flareon and an Empoleon making it to the next round with Jake. There were only two left to go.

After a while, the Miltank from the restaurant before came in with full glasses of milk to everybody still in the game, also giving small cakes to the winners of the first three rounds. We ate pretty well, the stuff tasted amazing, as always.

Something didn't feel right, though. It felt like something was about to go wrong. My aura powers were trying to tell me something, but what? Or was it just a coincidence?

My question was answered when I heard a scream, I looked up and saw three Pokemon lying on the floor with a strange purple foam coming out of their mouths, twitching and moaning in pain.

Those three competitors were the Flareon, Empoleon, and Jake.

**Cliffhanger! Ha! I'm a jerk! But still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, like I said before, I had some HUGE writers block, then I came up with the tournament, and a new character, then, BOOM! A new chapter comes out within the next two days of the idea. So yeah, I know how the end of this small arc will end, and we will be getting into the MAIN main conflict within the next few chapters. I'm also gonna give a few minor characters a bigger purpose in this. Hope you like!**

**Hey! See that button that says "Write a review" or something like that? Click it, write a review, and I'll give you chocolate! (Not really, but a review would be nice!) Tell me what you liked, and what I need to improve on. Give any criticisms on the characters or the story in general. Please keep in mind that I don't like seeing reviews that just say "Nice," or "Awesome, keep up the good work!" Or something like that. It's disappointing to see that Ii have a review and just see that it's a one or two letter one. They're called REVIEWS! NOT COMMENTS! If you wanna comment on a story, go to deviantart. ;-)**

**See you guys next time!**


	7. We Move On With The Program

**And here's the second part of the Sawk Tournament!**

**I mean it with the more detailed reviews, I really want to see what you guys think as a whole, give me a bit of constructive criticism, some ideas on where you want the story to go, and some tips on how to improve things like the characters, the world around them or the detail. Thanks!**

**Thanks to blacksterops1025 for his review! Keep 'em coming!  
><strong>**  
><strong>

"Everyone out of the way!" Shouted an Audino as he pushed through the crowd of worried Pokemon.

I was worried, Jake, and the two other winners were on the floor twitching and moaning from something.

I saw Luxray, Lucario, and Sawk bolt into the room.

"What's happened?" Sawk demanded. "What happened to the competitors?"

"They have been poisoned by Arbok Venom." Audino said while examining their vitals.

"Are they going to be alright?" I shouted.

"Yes, they have only been given a small dosage." Said Audino. "Though they will recover in two days." 

"We will have to postpone the tournament!" Said Sawk, disappointed.

"Uh, no," Heatran spoke up. "YOU continue the tournament. Three's enough for the finals, right? _RIGHT?"_

Sawk looked uneasy. "Um... Yes, I suppose..." 

"Good." He said. "I'm not gonna wait for a couple of wimps to recover from their own mistakes."

"HEY!" I bellowed.

Heatran turned.

"Don't call any of these Pokemon wimps! Or I swear on my life, I'LL be the one to overthrow you as champion!" I threatened.

"You?" He said. "You're a pipsqueak!"

He walked off, letting out a booming laugh as he left the tent.

"Who could have done this?" Luxray bellowed. "I want a recollection of everything that happened in this tent before they got poisoned. NOW!"

"Well, Miltank came in with some milk for the competitors and some cakes for the winners..." Said a Woobat.

Luxray glared at Miltank.

"N-No! It wasn't me! I swear!" She said.

"You were the last person to handle the food." Luxray said.

Lucario had his eyes closed, he seemed to be checking something.

"No, it wasn't her." He said.

Luxray looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, positive." Lucario replied. "I know Miltank didn't do it, and I can't pinpoint who did it exactly, with the large number of Pokemon in this room, but it is 100% certain she didn't poison the cakes."

"Which means somebody tampered with them before they were ready." I finished.

"I left for a few minutes to tend to some complaining customers while I was making the cakes..." Miltank breathed.

Everyone looked around.

"Any border breaches from Team Darkness?" Asked Luxray.

"No." Said Lucario. "The perpetrator was in this town to start with. And if I'm not mistaken, the culprit is a competitor in this tournament."

I was worried about Jake, but relived that he wasn't going to die. I was still in the game, and I was going to win it for my team. No matter what it takes.

I was called for the fourth group along with a Dodrio, an Excadrill, a Chubchoo, and a Pacharisu.

We were lead into the arena, and told to split up. I was lead to a small chamber with two doors, one leading back into the undergroud, one into the center ring of the arena.

I waited for several minutes, but it took forever. Finally, I heard Sawk saying "Let the next round begin!"

The doors were opened, I ran out and greeted my opponents. Sawk blew the whistle, and we were off. Excadrill immediately dug into the ground, I used my Aura to sense him, but he went straight for the Dodrio, he jumped out of the ground and used Metal Claw as a combo to send the Dodrio flying into the ground. It got back up, and, to everyone's amusement, the heads began to argue with one another.

"How could you have not seen that coming? He was giving us a smirk before he dove into the ground!"

"Shut up, I was a bit preoccupied with Pacharisu, and unless you haven't noticed, we have a disadvantage to him!"

"Will you two stop arguing? We're kind of in the middle of some-"

The Excadrill knocked them over by hitting them with his claw. He threw his arms in the air and basked in the glory of the crowd.

"I thought they'd never shut up!" He shouted.

I heard a sneeze behind me and next thing I knew I felt very cold. I found I was frozen solid from the legs down. The Chubchoo looked at me.

"I dibn't think dat would bork." He said. "Tibe to say gudnight! _Snort!" _

I did some quick-thinking and jumped to Battle Stage Two, and broke free from the ice. I flipped into the air just in time to dodge the headbutt he sent towards me. His head hit the ground with a small "Ow." and I landed right next to him, Blue aura surrounding my body. I pulled my hands together and formed an Aura Sphere and fired it straight at Chubchoo as he was getting up. I saw his eyes widen right before he was hit and sent flying into the wall.

_Little snot. _I thought.

I ran to the Pacharisu, who was waiting for an opponent, Excadrill was also closing in on him. He let out a discharge attack and it hit both Excadrill and I.

Feeling jolted, I shook my head and continued to make my way towards the Pacharisu. Next thing I knew, he was gone, then I felt someone tap my shoulder. Pacharisu was right behind me. He shocked me again. I willed my Aura to manifest into a physical form, and next thing I knew, my Aura blade was in my hand, ready for action.

"And the Riolu pulls another trick out of his sleeve to barely miss elimination! Is this your student, Lucario?"

"Yes, yes he is." Lucario said.

The Pacharisu looked at the blade and turned to the referee, Throh.

"Is this even legal?"

Throh shrugged. "With a Legendary in the ranks? This is child's play compared to what he does. Keep fighting!" 

Pacharisu turned and I slashed. He backed off in surprise.

"I feel weaker..." He said.

One more slash and the Pacharisu was down for the count, no more energy to continue.

Excadrill and I were the only ones left. He was basking in the cheering from the crowd, I was watching him intently, anticipating an attack. He sank into the ground and disappeared. Then, I got a brilliant idea.

I dove into the hole after him.

It was big enough for me to stand in, and I saw him rapidly digging, looking for me. I charged up and Aura Sphere and fired it at him, it hit him in his back and it exploded, sending him flying out of the hole and into the arena. I emerged from the hole and saw him lying unconscious.

"And the Riolu takes the win!" I heard Sawk's voice boom into the arena.

I looked at Lucario and locked eyes with him. He nodded, as if to say; _Good job, but it's not over yet._

Heatran's battle was no contest, he mopped the floor with the other four opponents it wasn't even fair. He seemed to have a tough time dealing with Regan, who was also in his group, but she was the last to go down. Sawk held a vote to bring back one of the losing contestants for a three way battle, and Regan won by a landslide, so she was also in the final round.

"Thank you all for coming!" Said Sawk. "Join us tomorrow where Riolu, Chimchar, and Heatran face off for the most exiting finale yet!"

**Short chapter, but the last one for the Tournament Arc will be released tomorrow. The winner will be revealed, as well as the one who caused the poisonings in the first place! See you guys then!**

**REEEEVVVVVIIIIIEEEEEWWWWW!**


	8. I Get A New Team Member

**I'm serious about the reviews. If you only plan on saying a few words on how good it is, that's not a review. I want a review to tell me how I am doing as a writer, what I need to improve on, what I should cover, and what I should focus on in the future. I want constructive criticism, not just a review saying things along the lines of "Good job." I appreciate the fact you like the story, but I want more detail than that.**

**Basically, if you only have one or two words to say during a review and it only says "Nice job" or something like that, don't leave one, I want to read reviews that tell me what I need to do to improve. It wastes my time and it disappoints me whenever I see a small review after I worked hard over one chapter. I think I might ave OCD on this...**

**Now, on with the show!**

I didn't train for the finale, mainly because I was making sure Jake and the others were going to be alright. He was in the guild's infirmary, lying next to the other victims, Flareon and Empoleon. He was too weak to say anything, but he could still communicate, with weak head nods and facial expressions.

"Visiting hours are over." Audino said to me, late at night.

I was escorted out, still worried about Jake.

While I walked out, I was approached by Lucario.

"Don't let this get in your head." He said. "You are in the finals, you need to focus, otherwise that Heatran will mop the floor with you."

"Right," I said, "He'll be fine!"

I went back to my hut and fell asleep.

I awoke the next day with the sun shining in my eyes, the bright blue sky gleaming through the window. Perfect day to fight. I got up, got a checkup to make sure I was healthy, and was off to the arena for the final round of the tournament.

Heatran, Regan and I were the only three left out of the near thirty Pokemon who competed originally. There would have been six of us, though, if the poisoning hadn't happened.

"Ready for this?" I asked Regan.

"Yeah." She replied.

Something felt odd...

She looked at me with her eyes and motioned her head to Heatran. I understood what she wanted me to do.Gang up on him and take him out fast.

We entered the arena, this time it seemed to have changed biomes over the night.

"Oh, yeah..." Regan said. "I forgot they redesign the floor for the finale of each tournament."

The entire place was a series of green circular islands over clear blue water. I had the advantage because Heatran and Regan were fire-types. If they so much as fell in the water, it would be game over for them.

Sawk walked out onto the balcony near the top.

"Let the final round begin! _TWEEEEEEEET!"_

We all were on the center island. Regan and I moved close to each other and faced Heatran. Now that I was up close to him, I realized how huge he was. He was _at least _three times my size.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall." I smirked.

I summoned my Aura Blade and Regan seemed to open up with a Flame wheel, which was used to distract him. I concentrated on a technique Lucario taught me to use _only _against enemies more powerful than me.

I pulled the blade back, gripped it and concentrated. I felt a surge of power as Aura from Heatran, Regan, and the water below combined together into the sword. It glowed a bright and dangerous purple from the mixture. I continued to charge it until it was maximum.

_The Focus Hit, _I remembered Lucario teaching me about, _Is a rather strange ability. It draws in elements and the aura of living things and adds it to your own, which you can use against more powerful enemies. Be careful, though, it will drain you as well._

I leapt into the air while Regan was fighting Heatran and slashed. There was a loud roar, and I found Heatran gripping his head in pain. He looked at me with bloodshot eyes. He wanted me first.

Phase two of my small plan was to jump from island to island in order to confuse him, and hopefully make him fall in the water. However he seemed to know what I was up to, he used Overheat repeatedly and fired it all over the arena, charring the grass on the islands, evaporating the water around them, and burning the walls of the arena.

I became faster, harder to hit, to the point where everything seemed to blur. I darted towards Heatran and fired an Aura sphere into his head at point blank. He was thrown onto a small island, but regained his balance before he could fall into the water.

"You! How dare you!" 

Meanwhile, Regan was just watching it all unfold, smirking at how Heatran had finally met his match. He finally decided to lose it.

"I've had enough of this! INFERNO!" He bellowed.

The crowd seemed to know what he was up to, because they all screamed. I dove under the water and sank to the bottom just as he released the attack. The temperature rose even in the water, I started to feel burns on my face and paws. When I saw the fire gone, I swam back up and rejoined the fight. Regan was on the ground, caught off guard from the attack. I was still standing, so was Heatran, but barely.

"It seems this Riolu cannot be touched! Even more tricks are coming to be each time he is faced with a new opponent!" Said Sawk.

Heatran was tired from the Overheat and Inferno, and he blindly charged at me with his head barred straight for me.

I jumped, laded on his head, ran up his body, and jumped off as he was out of control. He screamed as he fell into the water, knocking him out cold, and boiling the water instantly around him. Before he passed out, however, he uttered two words;

"Guardian... You..."

"Ladies and gentlemen, our new champion! The Riolu!"

The crowd was silent for a few moments as they were trying to cope with what had happened, but then they erupted into cheers and screams of joy. Pokemon everywhere were shouting "Riolu!" "Riolu!" over and over. I looked to Lucario and Luxray, they looked absolutely stunned.

Lucario finally snapped out of it and nodded, gave me a thumbs up, and mouthed; _Good job, Nathen._

I looked to Regan, she finally got up. With Heatran out of the picture, I found out why I felt so suspicious.

I read her aura and I saw guilt. I saw Arbok venom and Miltank's aura. My eyes widened, I slowly raised my hand and pointed at her. The crowd grew silent.

"She did it." I said. "She poisoned the cakes."

I lunged at her and the screamed. I held her to the ground and looked her dead in the eye.

"You poisoned Jake!"

She was whimpering on the ground. I felt someone grip my shoulder, it was Lucario, he pulled me back and stood over her.

"You are under arrest for cheating during an official competition, and cause of harm to innocent Pokemon." He said.

As she was being walked to the guild, no, dragged, I asked her a question.

"Why?" I asked.

"I wanted to be the one to take down Heatran!" She said. "I was hoping that all the finalists would be poisoned so he would be weakened, and I would have an easy win! But Miltank brought it all out too early! I was through with losing to him!" 

Heatran was still unconscious.

She was escorted out by Lucario and Luxray personally, I ran back to the infirmary to check on Jake.

Jake was sitting up in his bed and saw me come in.

"Nathen! What happened?"

"I won! I won the tournament!" I shouted.

Jake layed back down.

"I must be hallucinating..."

I looked down at him. "Real supportive. Look for yourself!" 

I showed him the prize money and the trophy I got from earlier.

"How did you beat him!" Jake asked.

I recalled everything that happened, including Regan being revealed as the culprit.

"Man, I missed a lot." Jake said, putting his hand on his head. "Remind me to be more careful next time, alright?"

I laughed. "Sure."

Afterwards, Lucario, Luxray and surprisingly, Regan, walked into the room.

"Um... What's she doing here?" I asked.

"She has been sentenced to community service."

"Meaning?" 

"She's joining your team."

Jake looked at her.

"What did she get in trouble for?"

"Poisoning the competitors."

Jake looked sick, then began yelling at her, saying she ruined his fun and all that stuff.

While his speech became inaudible, Regan turned to Luxray and said;

"See, I told you this was a bad idea."

"The decision is final. She has a good heart, she just had motivations to do the wrong thing." Lucario said. "She will prove to be no trouble to you... Provided that you cooperate with her." 

He immediately shot a look at Jake, he immediately shut up.

"Wow!" I said. "Can you show me how to do that?"

"Very funny." Jake said, pouting.

"Do you accept her as a team member?"

Jake looked at me and shook his head. I made m own decision, by reading her aura, I knew she was a good person, just mislead.

"I think we should accept her. I trust her, and she was cool during the tournament." I said.

Jake opened his mouth to protest, but nodded, knowing there was no convincing.

"Excellent! Regan, since you have experience in the arena for a few years, you will not need training. You may join Team AceLeaf tomorrow. Come with me so we can complete your registration."

They walked out of the room.

Jake huffed.

"I don't see why we should accept her."

"I trust her, and I tend to know people better than others."

"Fine, but if she murders us in our beds, don't say I didn't warn you."

**Alright! That does it for this arc! Not a filler because this Chimchar will be a very important character later, much later in the story.**

**Send me good, detailed reviews and not just one or two words!**

**See you guys next chapter!**

**Until next time...**


	9. We Get the Mission of a Lifetime

**I ain't sayin' nuthin.**

* * *

><p>It was another day weeks ahead. Regan, Jake and I proved to be a good team, and as the time went on, she stopped seeing it as a punishment, but more of an activity. She was really beginning to enjoy things.<p>

Jake still continued to be distant to her, he was still angry at her for ruining his chances in the tournament, but he was slowly beginning to open up to her. Hopefully their anger towards each other will end soon.

Anyways, Luxray walked over to us in the guild while we were looking for a good mission.

"I would like to acknowledge your performance, escpecially you, Nathen. Your outstanding performance in this guild has made me proud to award you the Bronze Rank. You can stop living in those small huts in the housing district and move into a Team Headquarters. I'll have Timburr escort you to your newly constructed base."

We all were exited and went with Timburr. He was carrying a large beam of wood over him to look macho. Every now and then, he would look to some girl Pokemon and wink at them. He also tended to flirt with Regan.

"So, a Chimchar, eh? You're going to evolve into a fighting-type, right? Well, when that happens, give me a holler." He said, smirking at her and showing off his muscles.

Regan rolled her eyes and walked a bit faster.

We were shown to a place behind the guild, it was a more elaborate house built out of clay bricks. Timburr left us to look around. The house had a main room on the inside, and several doors around it. There was a small second floor with an overlook, furnished by a simple wooden desk, torches of blue fire lit up the place at night.

"Dibs on the center room!" I called out and rushed to the door in the middle.

The room was pretty large, it had a rug in the middle, a small bed tucked out to the side, and a chandelier hanging from the cieling. There was a window tucked off to the back with a view of the valley, because the place was on an overlook over it.

Down in the market, I saw Kangaskan and Roselia fighting over a sack of Pecha and Oran Berries. I laughed as I poked my head through the window, but nearly screamed when some Razor Leaves were blown up and pelted the outside walls by the wind.

I was satisfied with the room, and I walked out to check on Jake and Regan. They chose opposite sides from each other, each completely on the other side of the house from the other. I rolled my eyes and sat down at a table in the main room, waiting for one of them to come out.

But, as it turns out, I fell asleep waiting.

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile, At Rustboro City...<strong>

Aaron was Nathen's best friend, and was one of the most worried about what had happened to him. Posters of Nathen were scattered all over Rustboro.

Aaron felt more alone. Nathen's disappearance didn't cause sympathy from the other kids at school, mainly because nobody talked to him. In his mind, Aaron thought that it was worse. He was alone, and really wanted things to change for the better.

Crystal secretly had feelings for Nathen, and regretted never telling him about it when she found out he disappeared. Her days were the same, same friends, same family, she was unaffected on the outside, but her secret crush on Nathen really tore away at her spirits, and it really came out. Crystal was usually at the top of her class, but her grades fell to a C average, and she failed Gym, even though she was one of the best in the class. The Gym teacher, Mr. Lee, said that she seemed to have lost all motivation in the class. Her failing gym meant she could not be a Cheerleader any longer. Her life became an empty hole.

Aaron was at an overlook of the sea on top of the Devon Corp. Building, where his father worked, when Crystal came up in the elevator.

"I was told you like to come here." She said.

Aaron turned around. "Crystal? What are you doing here?"

"You're not the only one who misses Nathen, and the way everybody ignores you... I thought you deserved a little bit of comforting, y'know?"

"Yeah..." Aaron reached behind his neck.

Crystal walked beside him. "Did he say anything about me?"

"He did, actually," Aaron replied, "He never stopped talking about you since you moved here from Unova."

"Really?" Crystal asked. Surprised, "He has a crush on me?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Wow... I kinda have the same feelings for him, too," Crystal replied, "I wish I knew that, now it's too late."

Crystal began to cry. Tears fell off the side of the building and sparkled in the sunset's orange light.

"Hey, don't be sad, Crystal," Aaron encouraged. "You and I both know he is a strong guy, he doesn't give up easily. He's gonna be fine."

"I hope so." Crystal said.

Just then, Aaron saw something out in the distance.

"Whoa!" He said. "What was that?"

"What?" Crystal asked.

She looked just in time to see a small pink orb disappear from view into a canopy of trees.

"Was that... Mew?"

* * *

><p><strong>Back To Nathen!<strong>

I woke up with a voice sounding through my head, but it sounded too distant to make out what it was saying... I thought I heard a "Help" and "Fear" and "Darkness" somewhere in there, but I didn't know what they meant.

Anyways, we were sent a set of missions via mail, and we were able to pick one right inside our house. Things got much more convenient after we got our rank, and we loved it.

Missions were more difficult, taking longer than the ones we were doing earlier. Jake and Regan were getting stronger by the day. I made the joke that they were finally catching up to me (In which I received a smack in the head from Regan.)

Our name was quickly spread around town, we were famous, rescuing Pokemon from Team Darkness, the works.

After falling asleep I had another one of those dreams, but it was more clear. I saw Lucario and Luxray in the main hall.

"So it is true?" Luxray asked.

"Yes." Lucario replied. "Team Darkness discovered the second gateway in the mountains. I have received word for it from Alakazam. We need to act quickly."

"Yes..." Luxray said. "But who will be here to guard the village? If we send our best guild members, this place will be open to attack. What if this is what they want?"

Lucario huffed. "Then we can send a small number to gather the tools so that the gateway cannot be opened. I'm sure team AceLeaf would be up to the task, with my guidance, of course."

Luxray thought for a moment. "I'll send AceLeaf, with you to accompany them. Good luck."

Luxray started to walk out, but he turned back and said, "The predictions are coming true. One piece of the puzzle is left. Where is the link between worlds? He is supposed to be the one to put Team Darkness in place, and seal the Evil One in the Middle World."

"I have my speculations, however revealing his identity could be dangerous. In these times I believe those details should be kept secret, you never know who might be watching."

I thought I saw his eyes flash in my direction.

"I believe I know who you are talking about, it fits perfectly." Luxray said, as he walked out of the building.

Lucario nodded and turned away, then looked straight at me.

"The next thing we will be working on, Nathen, is controlling your Aura Gazing. Honestly, nothing can be private anymore... I'll be coming to your team's base in a moment."

He fired a small aura sphere and I woke up, sitting up, I was thinking about the mission, and was thoroughly surprised Luxray trusted me with such a big mission... Was there something I was missing?

I managed to fall back asleep and dreamed about that voice again. _Gateway... Breach... Fear... Death..._

Something was going on, Luxray and Lucario talking about a "Link Between Worlds," me getting these weird dreams, and to top it all off, me actually appearing in this world, turned into a freaking Riolu! I knew I had something to do with all of this, but how, and am I dangerous? Maybe telling Lucario I was human wouldn't be a bad idea... But what would happen? Have these Pokemon heard about what some humans use them for back at home? How do I know they will label me evil, or crazy for saying I was human? What will happen to me? Will I ever get home?

Thousands of questions flashed through my head. The entire thing antagonized me. Maybe Lucario knew? He's a master of Aura, I'm sure he knows. Maybe that's why he's convincing Luxray to send me on this mission. Maybe I'm the "Link" between worlds that they were talking about. But how would I know for sure? I know I have a reason for being here, but what is it exactly, and will my life ever go back to normal if I find out?

"Nathen, wake up!"

I snapped awake to see Lucario in front of me.

"I know you know." He said. "I sensed your presence during my discussion with Luxray last night. Jake and Regan are already up and preparing, I suggest you get ready as well."

"Right." I nodded and got up.

"Meet back in the guild after you gather your supplies. This will be a long mission. Pack extra food, medicine, and water for this trip."

"Okay, Lucario!" I shouted as I ran out of Team AceLeaf's base.

I had gathered a lot of berries, medicines, herbs, anything I could cram into the bags. I was seriously concerned about this mission. If Team Darkness was dangerous on that night the village was attacked, I would be facing their leaders and most elite fighters. What would even say I could even stand a chance against them, let alone win?

Anyways, I ran back to the guild and saw everyone already there in the center room. Luxray was heading all of us.

"Excellent. You are all here." He said, sternly. "We will now begin the briefing."

We all sat down, Audino brought out a map of the island. In the center was a large mountain.

"This is the Volcano of Ash, where a Gateway of sorts is supposedly hidden in. If it is discovered by Team Darkness, it will surely bring disaster to the island in many ways."

"Why is that?" I asked. "Where does the gateway lead?"

There was a pause.

"You wouldn't believe me." Luxray said.

"Try me."

There was a small pause.

"The gateway," Luxray explained, "Is said to lead to the Human World."

* * *

><p><strong>CLIFFHANGER! DUN DUN DUN!<strong>

**So yeah, I hope you guys like this chapter. This story arc will be the MAJOR one of this entry in the series. I hope you like where the series goes, 'cuz I have big plans!  
><strong>


	10. The Message From Mew

****Now to pick up where we left off!****

**...**

**I know, I'm a jerk for cutting off the last chapter like that. U mad?**

**Also, I'd like to acknowledge some goals I have achieved through this story. With this chapter I have hit over 20,000 words, as well as I have now hit 10 chapters! I've also gotten a few hundred views from all over the world, keep spreading the word about this story guys! You are all awesome! **

I was silent. I had just found out that that gateway had lead to the Human World, where I cam from. I could go home! I was celebrating inside, yet I felt like I would be leaving something behind. I had been in the island for months, and I was really wondering which place I liked more, my place of birth, where I grew up and have many memories, or my new home, where I have risked my life for others on many occasions, as well as becoming a likable guy compared to when I was in High School with everyone bullying me, I know I would miss Aaron, and Crystal, even though we have talked only a few times, but I feel like I have known her forever. I know I ripped that off of a movie, but that's how I felt about her!

The stories that I had been hearing, how could Team Darkness know what that gate does, and if they do, what do they want to do with it? The questions floating around in my head were about to be answered.

"Team Darkness was actually a group of humans who were punished by the Legendary Council. They were an evil group of men and women who caused trauma and destruction among the human world, and nobody could fight back, because they controlled all life. When they were sent here to this island, all of the other Pokemon on the island were given the duty to make sure they do not escape. There are two gateways, one is under this very temple."

"WHAT?" I screamed.

Everyone looked at me, creating a _very _awkward moment.

"Nathen?" Luxray asked.

"Nothing." I said, sinking further towards the ground in embarrassment.

"Anyway, they have been trying to infiltrate this village because the gateway is here. As you can see, this guild was set on this spot for a very important reason, to protect the gateway, it has been hidden deep under this temple, where traps and replicas of the Golem Pokemon, Registeel, Regirock, and Regice, are set to guard it. This place is heavily protected, and they have finally seemed to learn that they cannot break in.

"However, they must have discovered the other gateway in Ash Mountain. It is protected, but not as much. The main defense was its secrecy, nobody knew of its existence. Which is why we need to set up a division of the guild in that area before it is too late. It is likely that Houndoom, the leader of the team, will be leading his most powerful supporters to that gateway, so we need to move fast.

"This mission will require you three, and Lucario to aid you, as an ambassador mission to the mountain to establish a division of the guild up in the mountain, and lead it, so that it can be equally defended. If Team Darkness happens to turn up to the gate before you, do anything you can to stop them from finding it. Listen to Lucario as much as you can."

"But why us?" Asked Jake.

"Lucario senses potential in all of you, and he sees you all as potential leaders in the near future. The Legendaries gave the Pokemon on this island the duty of guarding these gateways so that they can tend to their duties keeping nature in balance. If they break free from this island, it will prove catastrophic for everyone on both sides."

"_No pressure, huh?" _I whispered to Jake.

"Quiet! This is a serious matter. I trust you have the basic materials for this mission, I suggest taking anything you may need long term, because I see all four of you moving to Ash Town. It is at the peak of the mountain, in a large networks of caves. The guild division must be in the center, guarding the Circle of the Elements, the first door to the Gateway's temple. There is already a group of Timburr, Gurrdurr, and Conkeldurr there beginning construction, you need to establish the leadership and the first members of the guild there."

"And let's hurry," Lucario explained, with his aura sensors glowing a bright blue, "They are moving fast. We will have to make double time."

"I bid you all good luck." Luxray said, before we walked out of the guild for the last time, beginning our journey to Ash Mountain.

The mountain was a bright red with a snowy peak, always casting an ominous shadow over different sections of the island as the day went by, it showed a mark of power and awe, which amazed me whenever I looked up at it. I began to take notice to the streaks in the sky again.

"The island is over one hundred miles in length, we are near the coast," Lucario explained, showing us a map, "Team Darkness is on the other side, with the Ash Mountain Range in the middle. The range appeared as a barrier between Team Darkness' land and the Luxray Guild's protection. It will take about five days to hike there if we camp."

"Man, I was not expecting this..." Regan said.

"Hmph," Lucario huffed, "I was the one who suggested you join AceLeaf instead of being imprisoned, I knew the mission would be happening sooner or later, and I found you had great potential. Although your deed was not pure, it was clever, and we need smarts in defending the gateways."

Regan fell silent.

The walk was somewhat quiet, I was thinking about what I should do, if the gateway is there, could I go home? What would happen if I did? I missed Aaron and Crystal, the only two people I actually cared about from home. It was a complex debate in my hear, and it really caused me to ask about my future. Would I return home human? Or will I stay here a Pokemon? Only time will tell.

* * *

><p><strong>Crystal and Aaron <strong>had been trying to convince everyone that they saw Mew out in the distance for over three days at the time, but nobody believed them.

Both of them thought they heard a motherly voice sounding through their heads now and then, always hearing the words _come _and _him. _They really thought that Mew was trying to communicate with them, but they weren't 100% sure.

They both heard the voice in their 5th Period, but more clear at the time.

_Come to the park, I know about him._

They both looked at each other at the same time, and raced out of the classroom, saying they got texts about Nathen's disappearance, when they were excused, they bolted to the park, knowing what was awaiting them.

The shimmering image of Mew's pink bubble shined in the sunlight in front of a Floatzel and Swampert statue fountain, spewing water out of their mouths into a crystal clear pool with Magikarp and Goldeen swimming in the water below. Mew was perched right on top of the statue, however nobody else in the park seemed to notice her.

They stared in awe at the Mother of all Pokemon, right in front of them. However, their amazed faces attracted attention, and people started to stare.

_Will you allow me to take you somewhere private to answer a few questions? _Mew asked.

Aaron and Crystal had to be hit with a small psychic power to snap out of their trance, but they both nodded.

Mew flew to them and touched them on their foreheads and there was a flash of light, all of them were gone, with several confused people staring at what had just happened.

They reappeared in a small valley in the middle of nowhere, Mew flew around in the air in bliss.

_This is my home, _she explained, _I took you here because of the importance of what I am about to explain to you. Are you familiar with a boy by the name of Nathen Hill?_

"Yes." Crystal stated confidently.

_I know of his whereabouts, and I came to tell you because you are the two he trusts the most... In more ways than one._

Crystal blushed.

_He has been chosen by the Legendary Council to destroy a great enemy, that could prove to be chaotic for both worlds._

"Hang on..." Aaron said, "You said BOTH worlds?"

_Technically they are in the same world, but no humans can get there, even if they knew where it was. It is specifically a place for Pokemon to grow and survive on their own. If a human were to find the island from the outside, it would be invisible, and they would be whisked off to another part of the sea._

Crystal and Aaron were amazed. An island nobody even knew about filled with Pokemon!

"And he's there?" Aaron asked.

_Yes, _Mew replied. _He was transformed into a Riolu by my handiwork to begin a new age and destroy a great evil. _

They were baffled.

"He's a Riolu?" Aaron asked.

Mew nodded, upside down.

"There," Crystal continued, "At that island?"

Mew nodded again. _His potential as a fighter is great. He is to become a very important part in the course of history. I came to tell you he is okay, and to tell you you two will also play a part in what is to happen._

Crystal and Aaron's eyes widened.

"But why us? We're just a couple freshman in a run-down high school. Why do you want us?" Aaron said.

_It will all be explained in due time, but that will be later, my friends. I have said too much anyway, Dialga and Celebi will be furious with revealing a part of your futures. I can only tell you a little, go back to you lives. I leave you now._

Mew's eyes flashed, and Crystal and Aaron disappeared, both of them were returned to the front doorsteps of their houses, their minds blown from what they had just heard about Nathen.

"I'm so TIRED!"

* * *

><p>Jake had been complaining for a couple hours now, it was really starting to get on my nerves.<p>

"Quiet down, will you? Can you go five minutes without complaining about something!" I said, covering my ears.

Regan rolled her eyes. "Boys." She said as she walked a bit faster towards Lucario.

"All three of you, stop acting like kids. If you three went to lead the guild division _without _my guidance, you wouldn't last ten minutes. Get your acts together!" Lucario exclaimed.

Seconds later, Jake passed out after tripping over a small rock. We all stopped.

"I guess this would be a suitable place to set up camp." Lucario said.

The night was cold and rainy, thank Arceus we packed a tent. But something kept tugging at me in my head, I felt like we were being watched, so I decided to look and see.

Walking around the campsite for a while, I found nothing with my eyes, so I decided to use my Aura. Immediately I saw lots of Pokemon watching me, and they all had something in common.

They all were pure evil.

**Getting exiting, no? If these chapters are getting too short, it's because I have a major one coming that will be pretty long that you all will enjoy. Tell me what I can improve on in the reviews, and DON'T LEAVE JUST ONE WORD SUCH AS "NICE" OR "VERY NICE" IN THERE! IT'S REALLY ANNOYING! **

**Add me as a fav to make the updates sooner! I need motivation!**


	11. Powerful Enemies Afoot

**Continuing on!**

**Also, I'd like to make a small announcement, or rather a large one.**

**I have been learning about Manga and comic writing, and I'm confident about the story, so I was thinking about releasing a Manga Page-By-Page on DeviantArt for you guys to see. I'm going to start at when Nathen Wakes up, expect it to be released in a couple months, I need to practice and do a few drafts!**

**Also, I have been being contacted several times about Crystal.**

**If you would reread the story, you would notice that she is in a different spot than before. She is no longer in the Pokemon world, but she is a human that Nathen has had a crush on for years. I moved her and forgot to say I updated the story in that way. If you see any places on the story where Crystal is with Nathen and Jake, PM me and I'll fix it.**

**I'm trying to fix a few things with the format of the chapters, as so graciously pointed out by a previous reviewer, as well as there are a few typos and spelling errors.**

**You guys have also wanted to see some more of Crystal and Aaron's development in character. I'm currently creating a story arc that will be essential to the end of the story here, but it's not entirely worked out. Luckily I have enough time for what I want to do with Nathen and co.**

**On with the story after this long Author's Note!**

I pretended not to notice them, and I slowly inched my way back into the tent. Quickly I shook everyone awake.

"Guys, we're being watched, and they're about to attack!" I whispered to them.

Lucario snapped awake and ran out of the tent, stepping on Jake in the process, who woke up with an "Oomph!"

Regan took some shaking, but she finally woke up and ran outside, I came out last and saw a group of Dark-Type Pokemon, lead by an Absol and Weavile. We were surrounded by Houndours and Poocheyenas from all sides poised to attack.

The Weavile smirked.

"You have been traveling on our road." She said.

"YOUR road?" Jake said. "Since when was this yours?" 

"Since we came and claimed it, you stupid snake." She said. "And you are wanted by Team Darkness, anybody from the Luxray guild is on our hit list. So, how do you want to come? Quietly, or-"

Lucario lashed out, tackled her to the ground and held an Aura Sphere right in front of her face.

"-With a fight," She said, "I guess the latter... Absol? If you please."

Absol sent out a Shadow ball that hit Lucario, even though it didn't do that much damage, it caused him to fall off of Weavile.

"Gentlemen..." Weavile said, "Kill them all," She looked at me, "Except the Riolu, he captured Zoroark, and Houndoom has some special plans for him..."

About a dozen of the dark dogs all began to hit us with powerful attacks. We were all dodging and dipping from the fire, bites, pounces, and other attacks thrown at us from all angles.

I brought a Force Palm straight onto a Poocheyena's face and it crumbled to the ground. Jake and Regan managed to bring down another, and Lucario took out three at once with an Aura Blast.

The Dog Pokemon began to cower in our abilities and bolted for the trees.

"COWARDS!" Absol shouted, then turned to us. "You are skilled at fighting, but we are the strongest members of Team Darkness! Your victory will be short lived!" 

Absol darted towards me and backed me away from everyone else while Weavile cornered everyone else.

"You're all mine." Absol said, his teeth grinning in a bloodlusting pleasure.

He shot towards me in blinding speed and knocked me to the ground.

"What's the matter?" He said with a smirk, "Can't take it?"

I got up and jumped to the Battle Stage Two an lunged at Absol with an Aura Sword summoned in my hand. I slashed at him several times, but he kept avoiding the attacks with his speed, to the point where he ran behind me and pushed me to the ground. He was _toying _with me.

Lucario was dealing with Weavile, trying to protect Jake and Regan by taking all of the hits. Eventually he became too tired and fell. Weavile laughed and turned to Regan and Jake.

"This is too easy..."

Regan flashed out first with a massive barrage of fire, hitting Weavile dead-on many times, even with her weaknesses, she looked barely fazed.

Absol began to charge a shadow ball on the tip of her horn and fire it into my face, but something hit him from behind and caused him to fly into the tree behind us. Jake stood there, the tip of his tail glowing a bright green. A stern and serious look on his face.

"Nobody hurts my friends." He said and charged him.

Jake's speed almost matched Absol's and they kept dodging each other's attacks. Regan tried to hold off Weavile, but her fire was starting to dwindle, and she was getting fatigued from all the fighting.

Weavile stood still for a moment and laughed at her.

"I can take the heat," She said, "But you can't seem to take your own. How pathetic. How weak."

Regan flashed a hateful look at Weavile.

"DON'T. CALL. ME. WEAK!" She shouted and immediately got up. This barely fazed Weavile.

"Oh, I do love this game!" She said, "No wonder you haven't won that tournament all these years! You cowardly chose to poison the contestants to make yourself winner! You are a pathetic low-life!"

"Stop it!" Regan screamed.

"A disgrace to your family! You call yourself a powerful Pokemon when you cannot hold yourself against who is weak to your very typing! You are pathetic! And you will die with that feeling!"

"SHUT UP!" Regan screamed, her hands to her ears.

Something happened, her eyes widened and she looked angry, but a different kind, like she was confident. Was I missing something?

Weavile launched herself at Regan. Regan seemed to have calmed down, but why?

I heard her say, "Big mistake," and watched the night gleam with a bright light, afterwards, there was a scream, and an intense blast of heat.

When all of that cleared, I saw Weavile on the ground, fainted, Absol just staring at what had just happened.

In Regan's place was a Monferno.

Absol looked dumbfounded at her.

"You... YOU EVOLVED?" 

"Guess I did." Regan said, cracking her knuckles. "Which spells bad news for you, buddy." 

She hit him with an extremely fast Flame Punch and Absol fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

All of us stood silent and looked at the unconscious bodies of Absol and Weavile, both of them groaning in pain, unable to continue to fight. After a few short moments, we all began to celebrate at the defeat of two more of Team Darkness' leaders, and Regan's evolution, well, that is until we realized one thing...

Lucario was gone.

**Alright, that's it for this one! I'd like to thank everyone for supporting this story! This is really getting more and more fun to write! I'll see you guys next chapter!**

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**See that button down there that says; "REVIEW THIS CHAPTER?" Click it. You'll get poffins.**

**(Not really, but a review would be nice.)**


	12. Damian Comes Home

**Hey guys, ExploreBeyond here!**

**I just wanted to thank everyone for the reviews. Also, someone pointed out to me about an error in Chapter 8 that a lot of you noticed, for some reason, the entire thing is in BOLD font, I am trying to figure out why, because in the Document Manager the font is unbolded, wheras in the story it is bolded. I have no idea why, I will be emailing the staff of this site about this problem.**

**Anyways, let's continue!**

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><strong><strong>

Lucario was gone... Completely gone. There was no trace of him left, and any aura trails that would have been left behind were destroyed by Regan's fire.

"Where did Lucario go?" I shouted.

We fanned out looking for him, but he vanished without a trace. What could have happened to him? 

We all came to the conclusion that while we were all fighting, someone from Team Darkness sneaked in and dragged him away while we weren't looking. Knowing they were far enough away where we couldn't find them, and Lucario's advice, _"Even if one of us falls behind, we need to keep moving. The situation is too dire to fear over one life."_

It has hard for us to leave him with the bad guys like that, but something told me we would see him again. I decided one of the first missions in the new guild would be to go out and find him. I just hoped he was alright.

Jake tied Absol and Weavile up with his vine whip and Regan dragged them along the path.

Mt. Ash was fairly close to where we were, towering over the rest of the mountain range that surrounded it, creating a boundary between Team Darkness and everyone else.

Climbing the mountain was a challenge, seeing as there was a lot of falling rocks, steep cliffs and crumbling pathways, but we made it up to the top of the mountain within the night. Finally, Weavile and Absol woke up, but were knocked back out shortly afterwards courtesy of Regan and myself.

The trek continued until we reached the top, panting at how much work it took to get up to the top of the mountain.

But... I casually looked to my left and saw a set of stairs that lead to the bottom of the mountain and a sign that said, "FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE AND SAFETY."

All of us fell over in absolute stupidity and exhaustion. I decided not to bring up the fact that I was the one who suggested the path up. How could we have missed that?

Anyways, we could see light from inside the cave, Regan told us that was where Ash Town was. We walked inside.

"Regan, I thought you didn't want to evolve... Why did you?" I asked.

"Sometimes we evolve in dire situations and we can't control it. I guess that was one of those times." She replied, "But, I kinda like it. I feel stronger and like I can take on anything! Maybe I'll go for the third evolution sometime later."

Jake smiled, "I'm happy the way I am now," He said.

The town was built from the sides of the cave, houses and buildings carved into the rock, as if they were standing there for thousands of years. Pokemon were commencing with each other as they passed by.

Just like in Hidden Village, there was a large temple smack in the middle of the town, only with a Giratina Statue carved out of black and purple rocks instead of a mossy Arceus Statue.

The temple was large, and empty. I didn't sense a thing in there. We continued to walk towards the Temple.

"Ah! There you are!"

We turned and saw an Alakazam with a book in his hand walking towards us.

"You must be the Pokemon sent from the Luxray Guild! Welcome to Ash Town! I am Alakazam, the elder. And I...," He trailed off.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Where is the famed Lucario?" He asked, puzzled.

It took us a moment to answer.

"Kidnapped." I said.

"Oh, my..." He said. "I didn't expect one of the best fighters on the island to be captured so easily... Well, he is getting older... I guess it is to be expected that he is weaker..."

He looked up again.

"Oh, sorry! I sometimes trail off into thought occasionally. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I have already wound up some volunteers. There are about... Hmm... Fifty or so? Do you think that is enough fighters?" 

I nodded.

"And who will be leading this guild?"

"It was going to be Lucario, but..." I started.

"Him." Regan and Jake pointed at me.

"Wait... What?" I said.

"Excellent!" Alakazam said, "I'll bring the volunteers to the Temple, that is where you are going to be, correct?"

We nodded.

"I will send out a message to the Volunteers." He said, concentrating, sending out a psychic pulse throughout Ash Town.

_THIS IS YOUR ELDER SPEAKING, ALL VOLUNTEERS FOR THE NEW GUILD REPORT TO GIRATINA'S TEMPLE IMMEDIATELY! THANK YOU!_

"All set!" He said, noticing Absol and Weavile, "And I'll have these two taken to the jail nearby. See you around, and good luck!"

* * *

><p>After that, Pokemon began showing up at the temple and waited in the courtyard in front of me, Regan, and Jake.<p>

"Why'd you say I was leader?" I asked them.

"You just seemed right for the job." Jake said, "Somebody's gotta do it, right?"

I sighed.

"Next time, ASK me before something like that happens, okay?"

"Yes, SIR!" Jake said.

"I hate you." I replied.

Jake rolled his eyes and looked forward.

"Ready for this?" He asked me.

"Hell no!" I said, "I don't know how to lead a freaking guild!"

"Learn on the job, there's no training course." Regan said, elbowing me in the shoulder.

The entire courtyard fell silent.

_"They are waiting for you to say something." _Whispered Regan, _"Give them a speech."_

I stood there in front of the crowd, silent and scared of what to say.

_"Say something!" _Jake whispered.

I cleared my throat and walked towards the crowd.

"H-hello..." I said, "I am going to be in charge of this Guild, and I'm going to be your leader. I'd like to thank all of you for volunteering, because the situation we are being faced with is endangering all of our lives. I'm sure you all are aware of Team Darkness, correct?"

There were some nervous murmurs going through the crowd. I was starting to get used to the feeling...

"They plan on invading this town. They have found its location, and they want something from here. It is our job to protect it, because if not, they will get full control over everything on this island."

More murmurs were going through the crowd.

"I am asking you to help us all so that we can defend this town from destruction, to help yourself by saving your families and friends, and to help everyone else by putting your life at stake for the cause. So if you want to opt out of this, then leave."

Nobody said anything or moved.

"This may become an all out war between Team Darkness and us. I need each and every one of you to pitch in and help us defend this town from destruction. Then we will all be safe from Team Darkness forever."

It took a few moments, but slowly Pokemon began to clap and cheer for me. I just stood there in awe at how they inspired them. When they quieted down, I finally gave the first command;

"Everyone, we need to train."

* * *

><p><strong>Crystal and Aaron<strong>

It had been two weeks since they met Mew and found out about Nathen, they knew where he was, but they couldn't tell anybody about where he was... Mainly because nobody would believe them.

Even they knew where Nathen was, they were still depressed because of all the "MISSING" posters around the city, the constant reports about his disappearance in the news, and the people constantly saying "I'm sorry" to the both of them. It was really hard for them to cheer up.

But one day, Crystal's brother, Damian, came back from his Journey. He was assisting Professor Birch on getting more information from the other regions around the world, including the newly discovered Unova Region. He was alost sixteen years old, he went to tour all of the regions and see the sights. His first Pokemon was a Zorua, given to him by his uncle in Unova, the first region he toured. Crystal wanted to go, but her parents wanted her to stay behind and focus on her schoolwork. Crystal wanted to explore the world with her brother, but never got the chance. They were really close, and he fought against his parents to let Crystal go with him, but they wouldn't budge. He left, promising he would take Crystal in another tour when she got older.

Crystal had been waiting for over three years for him to come back, trying to establish herself as a more independent person the whole time. She spent more time alone and took charge whenever she could, impressing everybody. She thought that would be enough to get her to go on an adventure.

Damian walked through the door and embraced the hugs and kisses from his family, his Zorua, now evolved into a Zoroark, watching curiously. He had never met Damian's family before, when Damian introduced him, he just nodded his head with a "Zo,"

Damian then took Crystal to his room and showed her pictures, postcards, and souvenirs from all over the world. He showed her pictures of Pokemon, people, even the champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia, who he was given the privilege to battle against. He had cases of Gym Badges from each region, describing each Gym leader and how they fought.

Crystal really wanted to get out there, finally Nathen was starting to slip from her mind, and a bit of joy was coming back into her life. She lit up and spent more time with her brother than anybody else. She forgot about every bit of pain from previous events, and just enjoyed herself.

"Oh, by the way, I got you a little something," Damian said, taking out a Pokeball, "Professor Juniper gave this to me so I could take on the Stration City Gym."

He released the Pokemon from it's ball, revealing an Oshawott. It leaped up and down, squeaking in excitement.

"Crystal, he's for you."

She looked at Oshawott and picked him up.

"Thanks Damian! He's so cute!" She said.

"Osha!" It squeaked while hugging her.

"I knew you'd like him, he's a bit spoiled, though."

"Osh?" 

"I'll be able to handle him, Damian, thank you so much!" She said, hugging him, sandwiching Oshawott between them.

"WOTT!" It squeaked.

They pulled away immediately.

"Sorry Oshawott!" Said Crystal.

"Sha-wott..." Oshawott replied, forgiving his new owner.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed that cute fest! I got a review wanting more character development for Crystal, and I was planning on doing it, but had no idea how until Damian popped into my head. Also, I hope you enjoy what's going on with Nathen! <strong>

**Until next time!**

**(By the way, every time you skip reviewing this story, a puppy dies...)**


	13. The Truth Is Revealed

**Hello, everyone!**

**Thanks for the reviews as always, and that glitch with the bold letters in the whole chapter has indeed returned again to haunt me.**

**Also, I'd like to point out that I won't be doing the ALL CAPS SPEECH for the legendaries, if you recall the fight with Heatran in the Sawk tournament, he didn't have all bold speech. I only use all caps for psychic transmissions, such as Alakazam's "intercom" if you will.**

**I also want to point out someone in a previous review calling Regan the "Determinator". I got a good laugh after that.**

**If you have been wondering, the reason I haven't been updating lately is because I am currently working on another project! Here's a hint: 11. That's the only hint I will give for my next fic. If you PM me what you think my other project is, then I will send you a sneak peek of the first chapter of that fic, as well as a hint as to what's to come with EOTB!**

**Anyways, on with the lengthy discussion on our country's economy!  
><strong>

**...**

**No? Alright, fine. Here's the next chapter of the story.**

**BTW, that Puppy thing was a joke, LOL.**

You could call me a bad leader, but who cares. I was so close to the Gateway, my way home, I could almost taste it. I needed to get home, but I wanted to stay and help... What was I going to do? If I defeated Team Darkness, I would become a legend at Hidden Island, and I couldn't just leave. But if I were to leave now, this could all fall apart, and Team Darkness would come through and reek havoc on my world. I was stuck. I needed to asses my options, and the gateway would be good visualization for me to think about what I wanted to do.

Searching around the temple, I found a small cave entrance behind a few back rooms. Seeing that nobody was in there I decided to check there first.

The cavern was dimly lit, but I was able to see. It was small, and I was barely able to squeeze into it. After about five minutes of feeling around the small cavern, I finally found a large opening and walked into a large circular room lit with blue light,

Looking around the room, I saw the floor sliced into seven sections, like a pizza. Each was a different color. Light Blue, Dark Blue, Red, Sea Green, Pine Green, Brown, and Purple. All the sections pointed to an area of raised floor in the middle of the room, colored like the Yin and Yang symbol, only with small tile depictions of two dragons fighting each other.

I remembered the dragons in my Mythology class in school, Reshiram and Zekrom, who were known as members of the Tao Trio.

I looked into the center of the circle and saw a third dragon in between Reshiram and Zekrom, a grey dragon, and the third member of the Tao Trio, Kyurem. I remembered it represented a neutral territory, but not much had been discovered about it at the time.

Looking up, I saw a small archway about ten feet high and three feet long at the edge of the room. I knew that was the gateway, I walked up to it and touched the stone on the sides. Home was right in front of me, but something wasn't right...

"It is deactivated."

I turned around and saw Alakazam standing there.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I came down to think." I replied.

"About returning to the world you came from?" 

I froze. "How did you...?"

"I can read minds quite easily due to my abilities." He said. "You used to be human, correct?"

I hesitated, but nodded.

"I understand your dilemma, but you are needed here as well. That small speech you made before really inspired the Pokemon, and if you were to leave, I believe many spirits will be crushed, including your new found friends. I believe you should think about your decision, you could be throwing a great opportunity away."

I thought about the idea, Alakazam was right, I couldn't just abandon everyone when I had inspired all those Pokemon to fight Team Darkness all this time! I needed to finish the job I started and take down Team Darkness.

"There will be other opportunities to return to the world you lived in." Alakazam said, "But for now, I suggest aiding the guild in defending the eastern side of the island from Team Darkness. Besides, the gateway only opens every hundred years when the Traverse Comet crosses the sky. Team Darkness recently found that out through a spy who escaped a few days ago from Hidden Village."

Zoroark...

"However, the comet will be passing over withing the next week. I suggest you get prepared as fast as possible. If you beat Team Darkness before the comet passes over, then you will be able to return to your home. Also, Jake and Regan trust you with their life now, I think now would be a good time to tell them the truth, I will leave the rest to you, however." 

I nodded.

"I guess we have some work to do."

/

"Nathen! Where have you been?"

Jake and Regan found me walking back into the training center, where dozens of Pokemon were sparring with each other, learning how to overcome weaknesses and fears, and developing a team bond with one another.

"I had to think a few things through." I said.

"Like?" Regan asked.

I sighed.

"It's a long story, guys, and you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

I told them my story, I told them about Hoenn, Rustboro, my High School, my parents who stopped caring about me after I told them I didn't like training, my huge crush on Crystal, my best friend Aaron, being attacked by Andrew and disappearing in the flash of light from the sky, and ending up on the island. I left out no details of what happened to me. Emphasized the fact that I was not like other humans, and did not want to go into training caught Pokemon for my own ideas.

After I finished my story, they were very surprised.

"Wow..." Jake said. "You always seemed a bit... Conflicted all the time. I guess that's why, huh?"

"Yeah..." I said.

Jake looked uneasy.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that... You might have to leave..." He said. "You're the first person I've actually been good friends with in a while."

I looked down.

"Great..." I said.

"What?" 

"It's just whatever choice I make, to stay here or go home, people will miss me, you know?" I said. "I just wish that I could find a win-win situation..."

"Nathen!"

I looked and saw the Machop from earlier.

"What is it?" 

"Something's washed up on the riverbank feeding to the village! It's a Pokemon, and she's almost dead!"

/ 

**Short Chapter, I know, but I have some major writer's block right now, I know how the rest of the story is gonna go, it's a matter of how I write it is what's keeping these updates to be less frequent.**

**I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews, and will once again say that no puppies were harmed in the making of this story, it was only a joke.**

**Buuuuuuuuuttttt...**

**Reviews are appreciated... If you value the continuation of the series after this story!**


	14. My Friends Drop In For A Few Weeks

**Oh look! Another new chapter! What a surprise!**

**I apologize for not updating that much lately, real lie happened**

**I want to start a Manga for this story, if there are any good artists out there who like this story, PM me or leave the info in a review!**

An underground river fell into a small pond at the foot of the mountain. We all raced down there after Machop, who found the Pokemon down by the pond.

When we got there, we saw an aqua blue Pokemon lying on the ground, passed out. She was an Oshawott, in a pool of blood around her, a small puncture wound in her side. I walked up to her and put my paw on her chest. I felt a faint heartbeat, and I felt something familiar...

Images coursed through my head of a young blonde girl. A girl who I had been admiring for a long time. A girl who defended me against Andrew's gang...

Crystal...

But how did she get there? How did she become an Oshawott?

I grabbed a bandage from an Audino nearby and covered the wound. Putting pressure on the wound, I heard her breathing get a bit stronger.

"Nngh..." She stirred, and opened her eyes to my face, "N-Nathen?"

I smiled.

"Yeah."

"Thirsty..."

I ran to a tree and grabbed a leaf, cupped it, scooped some water from the pond and lightly poured it into her mouth. She sighed in relief and looked to a berry bush greedily, I told her to stay down, as I went to the berry bush and grabbed a Sitrus Berry. I put it in her mouth and she weakly ate it.

Audino walked up to me.

"We'll take her to the infirmary." She said.

"I'll help." I said.

/

It had been hours before she was able to speak in full sentences again, she was so weak. I stayed by her side the whole time, making sure she was okay. She seemed peaceful the whole time I was there.

"Nathen..." She said. "You are, Nathen, right?"

I nodded, bringing her a small wooden tray of food.

"Thanks for helping me out."

"You're welcome, Crystal." I replied. "But I'm confused, how did you get here in the first place?"

"Mew came and told us where you were a couple months ago, and she came again today because she said she was allowed to send us here."

"You said 'us.'" I said, "Who else was there?"

"Aaron." She said flatly, "Why?"

"He's not here."

Crystal froze.

"But... We came together, we both appeared on the top of the mountain together... how did we get separated?"

Alakazam walked into the room.

"I couldn't help but overhear, but I think I know how you got separated from each other." He said, worriedly, "The river that flows down from the mountain comes from a spring. The river flows down both sides of the mountain. If you two jumped or fell into the river, your friend may have been swept the other way."

"Oh, no..." I said, sitting down.

"Yes," Alakazam said grimly, "Your friend is in the territory of Team Darkness."

I bolted out the door, Jake and Regan following me close behind.

"Nathen, stop and think about this!" Jake said, "You can't go into the west side of the island! Team Darkness will catch and kill you...! Or worse."

"What could be worse?" I said, "He's in danger!"

"I've heard things..." Jake said, "Terrible things about what Team Darkness does to intruders... They torture them, beat them, and if they are powerful enough, will brainwash them into becoming recruits!"

I stopped and looked down.

"There has to be a way..." I said, "If they're gonna kill him, I want to at least try and save him. Lucario's there too, if we get them both back, I won't have to worry as much. There needs to be a way..."

I thought for a while.

"If there is any way we can slip into the territory without getting noticed, and we get him, and Lucario, we could be back here before anybody in Team Darkness notices they are gone."

"How?" Regan said.

"I need to go to Alakazam. He'll have some answers."

Alakazam was puzzled with what I told him.

"Both Lucario and your friend are alive. I sense their minds, but one of them is... Confused..." He said.

I sighed in relief, at least they were alive.

"However the issue of finding them still stands. There was once a successful spy mission to the west side a few dozen years ago, if I could just check the records..."

He turned to look at some documents from the shelves behind them.

"As the leader of this town, I have to keep track of anybody who comes and goes from here. Some members of Luxray's guild did come by to prepare for a mission in the west side..."

He continued to search through his documents and records.

"This may take a while, I will contact you when I find something that could help. In the meantime, keep training and looking after your friend."

"Right."

I left the room, and headed back to mine, there were a few things I needed to think about.

**Sorry if this chapter was a bit disappointing, but I have been hit with a MAJOR writer's block. I needed to throw something out there to show you guys the story isn't dead. Don't worry, action will pick back up in the next chapter!**

**Also, that image contest I was talking about earlier is even more important, because I need an original cover for this story! While I am learning, I need someone with a bit more skill! The winner will see their image as the cover for this story!**


	15. I Snap

**Back with another update!**

I needed some time, alone. This was getting out of hand. Everything was out of control.

First, I get handed the leadership of a guild that I didn't even want, then, Crystal drops out of the sky and Aaron is missing. I was up to my neck in stress that I didn't even want.

I thought for a while that this was an escape from my old life, but I grew homesick, and even though I may have had to accept the fact that it was my new home if the Gateway didn't activate for me to return home, I still had a hard time dealing with it. Think about it, how would you feel if you were ripped from your life to do something else without having a say in it?

I sat down in a chair in my quarters, looking out the window, I noticed the beautiful sunset. It reminded me of how I would go to the rooftop of a skyscraper in Rustboro to watch the sun set on the beach... I forgot about all the people making fun of me and shunning me. It was bliss, and I took the opportunity to do it whenever I could.

This wasn't enough.

A single tear fell down my cheek, I swung my arm and broke a pot sitting on a stool nearby me. I fought the urge to scream in the agony of withdrawal from my old life. I had no idea I would miss it that bad. It was too much.

Too many things were out of control. Too many things were giving me stress and worry for my friends. What was I supposed to do?

I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said.

It was Crystal, she seemed better after her rest, she still had a small bandage over her head where she was bleeding. Behind her was Jake. They walked into the room and saw what was going on.

"Where's Regan?" I asked.

"Asleep," Jake replied, "What's up?" 

I looked back out the window.

"I don't want to talk about it..."

"Homesick?"

I slowly nodded.

"And I'm worried about Aaron and Lucario..." I said.

"We're going to get them back." Crystal said.

"Then what? We're just going to keep fighting! It's only a matter of time until..."

"What?" Asked Jake. 

"Someone dies."

There was a pause, as if they finally realized the risk of this whole thing.

"I never wanted any of this." I said, looking out the window, "I wish that I could just go home. This is too much. Two of my friends are in mortal danger, I'm the leader of a guild when I didn't want to be.

I looked at Jake,

"You and Regan put me in this position." I said, "Why didn't you ask me first?" 

Jake's face paled. "Because... You were fit for the job."

"You're lying." I said.

"What?"

"I can sense it. What's the real reason?" 

Jake sighed.

"Luxray told me that you were supposed to lead this place, he didn't tell me why, though, he said the reason would be revealed in time. he didn't want me to tell you until after." 

I froze. Luxray was hiding something from me. I didn't know what, though. Why did he want me to be the leader of a Guild on the border of a warzone waiting to happen? Maybe it had something to do with the dreams that I had of him and Lucario talking. It confused me.

"None of this is making sense!" I screamed. "I just pop up here because of Mew, I miss my old life, I want to go home!" I punched the wall. I was angry. Angry at Mew, angry at Luxray, angry at Lucario.

I looked at Crystal.

"And you," I shakily said, "You and Aaron shouldn't have come here. You two can't fight, and Aaron is stuck in the middle of Team Darkness' territory! Do you have any idea how big of a mistake that was?"

"But Nathen-"

"You don't understand! You don't know how to fight, so you BOTH could die! Aaron could be dead right now! Both of you were selfish in coming here. You have NO idea how bad this is!" 

Some tears streaked down her cheeks.

"I'll be in my room." She said, and ran out.

Jake looked at me.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what? Tell the truth about the situation? I'm the leader of this place, even though I don't want to, I gotta be fair to EVERYONE."

Jake was silent for a minute.

"Fine. I understand you're going through a lot of stress, but that doesn't mean you can take it out on us." He said. "I'll leave you alone. Good night." 

Jake walked out the door and slammed it behind him.

I was alone, I stayed silent for a while, then I put my elbow on the window and sighed.

"What a mess..."

/

**Whew! Short chapter, but now we're done with the filler, and I am ready to start the next major plot arc of this story! See you guys next week!**


	16. A Lighthearted Battle

**Sup. I have a chapter for you. Action resumes, and the third Story Arc is taking place, the Manaphy Arc!**

**0000000000**

Days passed, Alakazam was still searching through the records. After that fiasco with Jake and Crystal, I felt alone. nobody really talked to me, and Alakazam was thinking about giving the leadership to someone else more fit for the job, even he had no idea why Luxray wanted me up top.

Jake and Crystal kept to themselves, Regan was being Regan, just walking around waiting for some action. Missions rarely ever popped up on Ashe Mountain, so we spend most of the time building up the defenses.

I learned more about Team Darkness's Leadership so that when we went in we would know who was up top. Their main leader, Houndoom, is the most powerful member. Everybody who has ever challenged him has been viciously killed by him. Then there were his five Commanders. They were equally brutal, but not as powerful. They were Zoroark, who was beaten at Haven Village by Lucario and I, Mighteyena Senior, Krookodile, Spiritomb, and Scrafty. There were four commanders at large.

The territory is a wasteland. All members of Team Darkness had repressed everyone living there into slaves for their dirty work. It was horrible there, but nobody was able to rebel because Team Darkness was too powerful and they were too weak from starvation.

Their main base was inside a huge fortification of walls and guards specially trained with sniping attacks to take out any attacking parties hundreds of feet from the walls. There was a small mining cave in the fortress barely guarded, and that would be our way in. All we needed was a way to slip into the territory unnoticed.

Alakazam finally found the records of the mission. If failed, but only at the last minute as the Pokemon tried to escape. They found the Temple of Manaphy, and convinced him to use Heart Swap to switch bodies with captured Team Darkness members to go in and spy on the enemy.

"The mission happened over one hundred years ago. Manaphy has been asleep since then, and it will be very difficult for us to wake him again." Said Alakazam, "The mission will be difficult, but not impossible. If we can convince him to help us, we can get your friends back, and any other prisoners they may be keeping in their territory. It will be the final maneuver. Two prisoners disappearing will set them off and they will want to attack. While the rescuers are gone, this place needs to do its best and prepare. I fear that war will not be avoided that much longer."

We all stood there for a few minutes.

"Who will be going on these missions."

Jake and I stood up at the same time. Crystal did slowly afterward.

"I expected Team Aceleaf to be the one to volunteer." Alakazam said, "But Regan is a fire type, and you, young one, do not know how to fight." 

Crystal looked disappointed and sat down.

"Regan will have to stay behind and help with the preparations. I apologize, but if you fall into the ocean, you could die."

Regan sat down, too.

"Now then, the only way to the temple is by taking a Lapras raft out to sea. It will take a week to arrive at the temple, provided nothing stands in your way. It will take some time to reserve and prepare the boat. I would give it two or three days before everything is in order for you to leave."

I nodded.

Crystal looked like she had an idea, she stood back up and spoke.

"What if I train during that time?" She said, "I could help them in the water!" 

Alakazam seemed to think about it for a minute.

"...Possibly. It is up to Nathen if you are ready. I suggest you begin as soon as possible. Will you agree to this if she is ready by the time you leave?"

I nodded. "If she can. I don't want her to do nothing this entire time."

Crystal smiled.

"I won't let you down!"

000000000000000

"You really think she will be ready for the trip?" Jake asked.

"Positive." I said, "Back at home she stood up against five tough guys and didn't even bat an eye."

Regan was disappointed. She walked beside us, but didn't say anything.

I looked at her and tried to make her feel better.

"It's no big deal, Regan," I said, "It's a quick trip, nothing all that special. You'd actually have the better end of the deal. You would be able to train with the other Pokemon and get even stronger. You already have Jake and I beat by a longshot. You're a powerhouse." 

She shrugged. "I guess you're right, but you get to meet a Legendary Pokemon that isn't a complete moron like Heatran was. I'm kind of jealous."

"If everything goes well, Manaphy will be coming back with us so we can make our next move." I said, "It's not like you're never gonna meet him."

"Yeah, what was I worried about?" She said, "I get a break! Finally! See ya!"

She ran off whooping and cheering.

"She's rubbing it in." I said.

00000000000000

Every day, I went and watched Crystal training with a Dewott to learn Water-Type moves. She learned pretty quickly. She was at the top of my class back at home, always payed attention, and had the most fun with hands on stuff, so this training came really easy to her. She learned how to fight faster than I did with Lucario.

After three days, she was able to use her Scalchop as a melee weapon, and her abilities with water for ranged combat. She became really confident in her abilities, that after the third day, she walked up to me and...

"I think I've got these attacks down, I think I'm ready, and to prove it, I want to battle you, Nathen!"

I spat out the Oran Berry Juice I was drinking at the moment.

"Battle?" I said, stunned, "Me? You? NOW?" 

She nodded.

"Scared?" 

"No!"

There was a pause.

"Well?" 

"I'm in the middle of eating lunch here! Give me a few minutes!"

0000000000

We stood on opposite sides of the arena. Jake, Regan, and a few other members sat down to watch Crystal and I battle.

"I know the reason why you want to fight me," I said with a smile.

"Why?" 

"You want to show me how strong you are..."

"..."

"Because you like me!"

Crystal's jaw dropped.

"No! No way! That's not true!" 

"I can read your aura, plus you didn't do a very good job at acting, either."

Over at the bleachers I heard some murmuring.

"He's got a point there..." 

"Kinda obvious she liked him, actually..." 

"Not surprised at all..."

Crystal stood there, white-faced for a minute, than recomposed herself.

"So what? Aaron said you liked me, too!" She said.

Jake said the look on my face was priceless.

"Oh, he's dead when we get him back." I said, "Whatever, let's go!"

"Whatever." Crystal said, drawing her shell, "Let's see what you're made of!"

We both charged at each other, my Aura blade drawn, her Scalochop ready.

She swung that thing around like a pro. It was great, she was a natural fighter, really impressive.

She swung, I back flipped and landed perfectly upright.

"Nice." I said, "Now for the real challenge!"

I activated Battle Stage 2.

"I hope you know what you're dealing with," I said, "I'm a tough final exam." 

"I'll take my chances!"

I fired a few aura spheres in her direction, but she was too small and maneuvered around them effortlessly. She did something unexpected, while running around me, she immediately leaped over me and water gunned me dead in the small of my back, just above my tail. It knocked me off balance and I fell over.

"Nice move." I said, the wind knocked out of me.

I got back up, huffing and I charged at her again. I did a false swipe on her left side and immediately swung my Aura Blade to her right and hit her, draining some of her energy. She retaliated by blocking another blow to her chest with her Scalchop and kicked me in the stomach. I pretended to be winded and immediately fired an Aura sphere right at her. It hit her square in the chest. She was flown backwards and landed in the dust.

She didn't get up.

"Crystal, you alright?" 

"..."

I walked up to her, concerned I actually hurt her. Her eyes were shut and her face in a pained expression.

"Oh, God..."

Next thing I knew, she opened her eyes in a smirk, and spat hot water right in my face.

"YEOW!" I screamed, clutching my face in my hands.

I felt myself get sweeped and I fell to the ground.

"So, you think I'm ready?" She asked.

"Y-yeah..." I said, "Welcome aboard."

00000000

That night, I had the first Aura Sight dream in a while. But it wasn't like the others. It seemed as if somebody was trying to connect to my mind, and I could only hear, not see.

_Help... I'm so confused... I don't know what they're gonna do with me... I need to get out of here... They've drained so much from me..._

I didn't sleep that night after that. There's only one person who I recognized with that voice.

Aaron.

He was still alive. I was sure of it.

And I was going to do whatever I could to get my best friend back.

0000000000

**Whew! Nathen's mad now. He's desperate to rescue Aaron and Lucario as soon as he can! But will his trip to find Manaphy so he can slip into Team Darkness' territory go smoothly? Or will more challenges await him?**

**Anyways, this chapter was really fun to write, because I was able to do a lighthearted battle, as well as have Nathen and Crystal show their feelings for each other. Don't worry, they're gonna have a touching moment very soon!**

**I miss your reviews, guys! I need some criticism! All I've been getting are reviews that are only one or two words long, and it's really disappointing, because I need better feedback! I see the traffic charts spike every time I post a new chapter.**

**That button isn't gonna click itself!**

**REVIEWS MUST BE WRITTEN!**


	17. I Get A Good Look At Things

**Just so you know, the more you hit that review button, the more people will want to check this story out!**

**REVIEW RESPONSES**

**FrancisTheUnconsciousSnivy10 1**

**"Nice"**

**Thanks.**

**CrimsonNixill**

**Hey! Great story!**

**"I'm worried for Nathen's sake… I hope he finds that Aaron isn't a Zorua or something like that…**

**As for criticism, I have none. I can't really review all that well. ;**

**P.S. It would be cool if Aaron was an Eevee or something like that. owo"**

**Well, I got good news and bad news, Aaron is NOT a Zorua, but he isn't an Eevee either. Just wait and see!**

**SomethingDictionary Related**

**"If failed, but only at the last minute as the Pokemon tried to escape."**

**Erm... what?"**

**Funny how the guy with a grammar related username points out a textual error in the chapter, LOL.**

**Yeah, I sometimes slip up like that, I think this time it was a bit more obvious. Sorry about that, It will be fixed. Thanks for pointing that out.**

**Poke-file**

**"****I wish the battle could have been longer but other then that this chapter was**

**great"**

**Thanks for the compliment! There's only so much I could do before it went too far, I just wanted to play that scene safe.**

**That's all the reviews, but you can click that special button at the bottom of the page to magically respond to this story! It will blow your mind!**

**And... ON WITH THE SHOW!**

**0000000000**

Preparations were made. Manaphy's temple was about a two day trip out to sea, and that's IF we had good weather and tides.

Regan had to stay behind, because of her huge weakness to water, she didn't want to risk drowning. Crystal was going to help us instead. We were going to travel on a raft pulled by a sail out to sea. Hopefully things would go smoothly, for once.

Anyways, we had enough food, water and shade to keep us alive, everything was going to go smoothly. Hopefully.

Anyways, we hiked down to the dock where they had our boat ready, as well as a map of the waters, and a map of the night sky so we could find a direction.

We were given a quick lesson on how to operate the sails and we were ready to go.

Because Regan had to stay behind, we spent a bit of time saying goodbye.

"Don't worry," Jake said to her, "It's only a couple of days."

"Who said I was worried?" She said, giving Jake a confuse look. "Come on, Nathen is gonna be with you, and you're going to meet MANAPHY for Mew's sake! You're gonna be fine!"

Jake fell silent, I stifled a laugh.

"We'll see you later," I said, "Don't cause any trouble."

"Yeah," Regan replied, "Good luck!"

She began her walk back up the mountain. When she was out of sight, I looked at Jake.

"Do you...?"

"NO!" He said, "I don't! Let's go!"

He walked over to the boat, he seemed to be more than happy to go.

"He does." I said, Crystal laughed.

After checking the supplies one last time, we shoved off and began sailing into the sea.

00000000

After a couple hours, the whole island became fully visible. What I saw was scary. On the east side was the luscious forest, happy, teaming with life, filled with happiness. On the other side, over the Mountain Range, was Team Darkness' territory. It was barren, black, and lifeless with the exception of small pillars of smoke rising from it, and one giant one in the center. It was flat, nothing grew. I felt a very evil Aura coming from that half of the island.

But something else struck me; I felt something else. I felt... Innocence, helplessness, even regret and sorrow. Whatever was giving that aura off was either a very strong Pokemon, or a group of Pokemon were all feeling the same things. I heard from Alakazam that most Team Darkness members were brainwashed Pokemon... Maybe they can't control their bodies, but they still felt emotions and regret from the evil things they were forced to do... It terrified me to think about it.

I found myself staring into Team Darkness' territory for a while, as if I was waiting for something, and it did.

Something flashed in front of me and knocked me over onto the floor of the small boat. I felt myself shoot across the surface of the water, into the wasteland that I was staring at for hours. I shot upwards into the air and dived into a large building of some sorts. It was made of black rocks, it towered into the sky and broke through the clouds. There was smoke coming out from the top, like a giant chimney.

I flew straight into it.

I closed my eyes, and all of a sudden, I found myself floating in a... Jail.

The prison was tall and dark, carving into the ground like a ravine. Cells were lined up and down aisles that were carved into the sides. Above me was the huge chimney that I flew into. There was a huge fire pit with roaring flames inside it. There were large platforms surrounding the structure. Walkways all over.

I didn't get a chance to see everything, because I shot back down into a jail cell with a _very _familiar shiny Lucario inside it. He was standing in the center on one leg. His paws were touching each other, and his remaining eye was closed. He was meditating.

_Good, I was able to link our Auras. _Lucario's voice sounded in my head.

"What's going on?!" I asked.

_I have linked our auras together so that we could talk. _He replied. _They tried to brainwash me, but I was too strong minded. They are setting me up for execution in less than two weeks._

"WHAT?!" I said, "You're going to be killed?"

_Yes. _He replied. _Don't try to save me. It will lead you into a death trap. Team Darkness has gotten word of your successes against some of their members, and they have a price on your head. Zoroark escaped from Hidden Village and has returned to the territory. She wants you dead more than any other Team Darkness member._

"What?!" I said, "I can't just let you die!"

_I said not to come looking for me. _He said, _It will only put you in more danger._

I was silent.

_Something else is troubling you. _He said, _What is it?_

"I... Have a friend who was captured." I said. "I am coming to save both of you. There's nothing you can do or say to stop me from trying."

I heard him mentally sigh.

_I have already put you in enough danger. I am a powerful Pokemon, revered as a hero by the whole island's east side. Making you my apprentice put you in danger. Team Darkness has overheard via Zoroark, while she was spying, Luxray and I speaking... About you._

I froze.

_I cannot reveal what we have discussed, because it is too important. I can only let the events unfold. But I will tell you this; you are part of something very important. Do whatever you can to help Haven Island. It will help you in more ways than you think._

"O...Okay..." I said,

_And I know your past. When you first arrived at Hidden Village you felt different than normal Riolus, you felt like you came from somewhere else._

"I used to be a human."

_Yes, I know. _He said_, And Team Darkness knows, and I have no idea how. That is why I need you to stay out of their territory, and prepare in Ashe Mountain. It is imperative that you and your friends stay alive._

I stayed silent, but I knew what I had to do.

"I'm still coming for you and Aaron" I said, "You can't stop me."

_..._

I felt myself getting pulled backward.

_You're waking up. Remember what I said, and good luck._

I shot backwards into a shining light and I woke back up on the boat's deck.

"You completely knocked out." Said Crystal, "I can't believe you just flopped down on the deck right there."

"Yeah..." I said, "Crazy dream."

I looked off the side of the boat and saw we were surrounded with ocean. No sign of a shore or island or anything.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"A few hours," Jake said, "Hungry?"

"Nah." I replied.

"God, it's hot out." Crystal said, shielding her face from the sun, "I think I'm gonna take a swim."

Crystal leaped into the water and swam for a while, with her speed, she had no trouble keeping up with the boat. She was graceful, flowing and...

"...Beautiful..."

Jake gave me a look like he was gonna burst out laughing at any second.

"Sorry, thinking out loud."

I continued to fantasize Crystal and I on the beach during sundown, and I sighed.

"You _so _like her."

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**And that's a wrap! I know, nothing really "actiony" happened this chapter, but I wanted to explain a few things, and overall, throw in a bit of the good old notorious filler. But who cares? I loved writing this.**

**Review for free internet cookies! The're CHOCOLATE COMPUTER CHIP flavored!**


	18. Storms and Pain

**REVIEW RESPONSES**

**FrancisTheUnconsciousSnivy says:**

**"I love this story, even if my OC isn't here."**

**You know you do. ^^**

**megazerik**

**"Chocolate computer chip, is that a Suite Life refference?"**

**Didn't mean it to be, I said Chocolate computer chip because you would be getting them through a computer, but I guess I subconsciously made it that way, LOL.**

**Keep reviewing!**

**The Shining Saphire Star says:**

**"I bring reviews! I finally got internet connection, so...yeah. Happy day.**

**Awesome chapter. I cracked up when Nathen started entering his 'imagine spot.' Are you going to pair Crystal and him up or something? 'Cause if you are, that'll be interesting.**

**Not much I can say other than: Hurry up and update before I hunt you down! (Kidding, kidding...)"**

**Lol, I was wondering why, your reviews are my favorite and most informative. Glad to see you back on my regular reader's list. I might not be able to update as frequent as before, due to THREE beautiful things going on:**

**Sophmore year,**

**Getting a girl to notice me,**

**and my headphones were eaten by the family cat. (I NEED headphones to listen to music. Music is my inspiration to write... Gets me into the emotion of what I want to write, if I don't have music, I have SERIOUS writer's block. :P)**

**Also, I can't spoil the fun on who Nathen gets with, because later in the series (Yes, I said series, you may now get excited!) he's gonna have complications in a relationship he gets in... Note that I didn't specify WHO, Lol.**

**Wish Counselor says:**

**My oh my. Miss oshy vs. Mister Rio. Sword to sword for thought.**

**Awwwhohhoho!  
>I love you implementing of the fake moment with crystal and scalds out Nathen. Ouch man, you got HUMILIATED by a girl. AGAIN! On a burning water process<strong>

**Yeah, I created that scenario because Oshy's are Crystal's favorite Pokemon. I was originally gonna have her be a Piplup, but it didn't fit her for some reason, so I went with Oshawott. Also, the scalchop vs. sword thing was a fun battle to write, and her scalding Nathen's face made me laugh while writing the chapter. (Seriously, where do I get these crazy ideas?! :P)**

**Keep those reviews coming, because sure in heck I WILL respond to them!**

**000000000**

It was about midnight when the storm hit.

Of all the sailing cliches, we had to get hit with the most dangerous one. Either it was bad luck, or Lugia was messing with us.

The boat wasn't built for storms, but given the fact that nobody thought storms were going to hit, thanks to the Flying Types who SAID there were no clouds for miles... The boat sunk. Thanks, guys.

Swimming was no problem for me. I swam in the ocean back in Rustboro all the time to blow off steam. Jake, however, wasn't that much of a swimmer. When the boat sunk, Jake was gone, and Crystal and I were both screaming his name.

"I THINK HE WENT UNDER!" I yelled over the roaring waves, rain and thunder.

"I'LL GO AND LOOK!" Crystal responded. She spotted a log leftover from the boat and pushed it over to me.

"HOLD ON TO THIS UNTIL WE COME BACK UP!" She yelled.

"GOT IT!"

I took hold of the log and Crystal dived into the deep water.

I waited for a few minutes as the roaring storm passed. Neither of them were coming up. I began to get worried, and I decided to just dive down to help out.

It was dark, I decided to use aura to find them. Crystal was still swimming around, but I saw another figure, unconscious and sinking.

Jake.

I swam to him like a torpedo and grabbed him, pulling him up to the surface. I put him over the log and fired an aura sphere down into the water. Crystal swam back up and saw I had Jake.

"HE'S ALIVE, JUST KNOCKED OUT." I yelled.

"GOOD!" Crystal said.

Next thing I knew, a giant wave was forming over us. It arced down slowly over us. Crystal and I screamed as thousands of gallons of water swept us away from each other...

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**Back at Rustboro...**

He never felt more alone...

Since his sister disappeared, like Nathen and Aaron, he and his family were quiet, they didn't talk to each other, the shock of Crystal, a hard-working and determined girl just vanishing without a trace... It was too much to bear.

His name is Damian Jacobs. He spent most of his teenage years touring the world, promising his sister he would take her on a great adventure someday. He started by giving her the Oshawott, and the week after he was going to ask her if she wanted to bring some friends and tour Hoenn with him, and watch the Hoenn League. He never got the chance.

Somehow, these disappearances were connected, he thought, he needed to find out how and why, so that he could save his sister and her friends.

The police did everything they could, but turned up no evidence. The gang of kids that attacked Nathen knew nothing of his whereabouts, all they said was they were chasing him, but lost sight.

Crystal and Aaron vanished together, and, again, showed no evidence of where they could possibly be. It was named the biggest Mystery of the Year, and everyone was determined to find these children.

But somehow, Damian knew that they would be impossible to find. Slowly, he began to decay. He had no strength to train his team, or even get out of bed. He was full of grief and sadness. How could he let this happen? Since the day he was born, he swore to protect his sister at all costs.

The toll was on him. He thought it was his fault. He did not watch her. He wasn't there for her. She could have been dead, for all he knew. His shining black hair, as dark as a midnight sky on a full moon, lost its shine and became dull and lifeless. Bags formed under his eyes, the warm smile that charmed many vanished, and was replaced with an expressionless, dark face. He had no energy to continue on.

He was laying in bed, and there was a small knock on the door, it was his mother. She came in with a bowl of hot broth, a warm smile on her face, hiding the grief and sadness while worrying for her daughter.

"Thanks." Damian said abruptly, he didn't want to anybody anymore.

His mom left without another word.

Silently sipping the broth, he looked out the window and saw a Spearow looking at him it jumped through the window and its form shimmered, creating a familiar looking Pokemon, a companion by his side all this time; his Zoroark.

Zoroark looked at Damian with a small frown, compassionate towards the pain his trainer was going though, and wanted to make him feel better.

"You got me again, Zo," Damian said with a small laugh, "Nice one."

The Zoroark smiled. He made a determined face and barked a bit.

As if he knew what he was saying, Damian sat up a bit further.

"I get it," He said, "You want me to find her."

Zo nodded.

"I shouldn't give up on this! Crystal needs me now, and I'm giving up on finding her! What kind of a brother am I?!"

He sprang from his bed. He knew what he had to do.

"I'm gonna find my sister, and bring her back home!"

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I woke up with sand in my face.

"AGH!" I gagged, spitting it out of my mouth.

Snapping awake, I found out I was all alone. On a lonely beach on a tropical island in the middle of nowhere. There were palm trees with different fruits and berries all over.

"About time you woke up!"

I jumped at the voice that came from behind me. I turned around and saw a blue Pokemon, floating in front of me. Its arms were curled on its hips, two small antennae coming out of its head and pulling behind it like a ponytail.

"Hiya!"

"Wh-who are you?"

"Silly Riolu," She said, "I'm Manaphy!"

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**And that's it!**

**Review, it's good for your health! Trust me, I'm a doctor.**

**I'll get the next update out ASAP, so watch for it!**


	19. The Past and Present

**Stopped doing review responses, sorry, taking too much space in the chapter!**

**But I did need to address something, I do not accept OCs, I MIGHT have some OCs do MINOR cameos with no impact on the story, but that's highly unlikely. Just so some of you know.**

**0000000000**

"Silly Riolu, I'm Manaphy!"

I didn't expect that. I just RAN into her, basically. I thought that I would have to go through some trial in that temple or something. I guess I play too many video games.

"You okay?" She asked, "You're drooling."

I didn't realize that I was that stunned to see her just so... Easily.

"Hu-yeah!" I said, shaking myself back into reality.

"Good! Glad you're alright!"

She began to float away.

"Wait!" I said, "There are a couple friends that came with me, have you seen them?"

She shook her head. "You're the only one who washed up here. I don't know where your friends are."

"I hope they're alright..."

"They're fine," Said Manaphy, "They're just not _here_."

"You know where they are?"

She shook her head again. "Can't sense anything besides you and Phione on this island. I can only sense the minds of living things in a certain distance. Your friends might have been washed away on the surf. I can't do anything about the way they go, though, Lugia's in charge of that, and he's not here right now. It's a secret, so don't bother asking."

I closed my mouth after my question was shot down before I could even ask it.

"So, what brings you to my island?"

"Haven Island needs your help."

Manaphy looked down.

"I... Can't do that." She said.

"Why not?"

"You need me to switch your bodies with your enemy so that you can slip behind their lines, don't you?"

"Yes."

"I did that once before... It was a disaster..."

I remembered what Alakazam said before.

_"It failed, but only at the last minute when they were trying to escape from Team Darkness' territory."_

"They were all killed." She said. "When I heard the news, I couldn't believe it. My powers caused them to die."

I looked down.

"How did it happen?"

She closed her eyes and tried to remember. She looked in pain.

"Such a horrible memory..."

**0000000000**

_"They had the information they needed, they were heading out the way they came, the Black Labyrinth, a dark cave, an illusion cast on it by the Legendaries. It trapped almost anybody who entered it. Team Darkness remained imprisoned on their side of the island for hundreds of years. The way it trapped the Pokemon who ventured into it made it like a DUNGEON, and the way it rearranged itself made it impossible to map. It was like a MYSTERY to all who thought of it. Why would such a horrible and dangerous place be put on the island?_

_The Legendaries and the Guild Masters refused to give any information, as it was too secret. If anybody were to know about what was on the west side of the island, Pokemon would fear for their very lives, and the island would be thrown into chaos._

_Team Darkness broke through, sending a large brigade of followers into the Ashe Mountains, which were before, thought to be impossible to tread, but they found their route. They attacked the East Side, and the Ashe Volcano became their base._

_So many died on both sides. When finally, Senior, an ancestor of the Guildmaster in Hidden Village, decided to attack._

_The elderly Luxray attacked with his guild and forced Team Darkness back into their territory, and established Ashe Town as an area to protect the island's East side._

_The town flourished. Team Darkness feared to take that route again, and they remained dormant in their territory. Ashe Town, as generations passed, became a peaceful town on the mountains._

_The Great War was over. However, a group of Pokemon thought that Team Darkness was planning another attack, and demanded to know what they were going to do._

_They came to me, it was over 200 years ago. I let them enter the territory in the bodies of captured Team Darkness members. They left without a second word. _

_I do not know what exactly happened in that mission, but they found the information and tried to exit through the Black Labyrinth, but something, something EVIL stopped them from going any further. All five Pokemon who went on the mission didn't make it out alive. Their bodies had no marks of wound, they just seemed to have fallen over, dead. Pokemon once again, feared the Labyrinth even more than before. Many blamed me for not helping enough. I was forced to run from the ones who called for my help..._

(A/N: I listened to this song here ( watch?v=XnzpqDaWUXU&list=FLGHVWEPDerQpQimbX13XOCQ&feature=mh_lolz) to write this back story. It really ties up the mood, in my opinion, XD)

**0000000000**

"And I have been living on this island ever since."

I was stunned at what had happened. I had no idea that this really affected her emotionally.

"Manaphy," I said, "This time is different. I have two very important friends who are about to be executed. I need your help so I can save them. Please, I will do anything to get them back. I need them, if I lose them..." I sat down and tears formed in my eyes. "I don't know what I would do without them."

Manaphy seemed to be deep in thought.

"So you are going to go straight into the Shadow Tower's basement, find your friends and get them out before they get executed, all stealthy and in disguise?"

I nodded.

"You're crazy."

"So what?" I asked. "If I have the determination, I can do anything. I got here, didn't I?"

Manaphy giggled. "You did. And I can't help but feel something... Special is inside you. I think you are going to do something great."

"MOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!"

"That's Phione."

"I guessed that."

A smaller Pokemon floated around the trees.

"Look what I found, Mommy!"

Two Pokemon were being dragged behind him encased in pink psychic energy.

"LET ME GO!" Said one. "I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU DON'T LET ME GO I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"

The other one seemed to be knocked out. Crystal and Jake were alright.

"Phione! Put them down!"

Phione dropped them, Crystal hit the ground pretty hard. She had that fire in her eyes, like she was gonna rip someone to pieces.

"You're dead meat, kid!"

She ran at Phione, but was blocked by a Protect attack. She smacked into the screen of psychic energy and fell over.

"DON'T TOUCH MY BABY!"

It was Crystal's turn to be scared.

"Guys!" I shouted. Everyone, save for Jake, looked at me. "You're alright!"

Jake began to wake up. "Who?! What?! What's going on?!"

He took one look at Manaphy and Phione and fainted again. I slapped my forehead.

"Well then, I guess you found your friends, and your boat was destroyed, right?"

I nodded.

"If I'm going to help you, you need a way back home, correct? I think I can help you with that!"

The gem on her chest gleamed, and there was a flash of light. The last thing felt before blacking out was the feeling of weightlessness.

**0000000000**

**Tried to make this chapter a bit longer than I planned, but the finale is approaching! Will Nathen's mission to rescue Lucario and Aaron be successful? And what is this danger in the Black Labyrinth? All these questions are going to be answered VERY soon! I hope you stick around for the next update!**

**Until next time...**


	20. Picking a Vessel

**Chapter. Freakin'. Twenty. I have nothing else to say, but thanks to all of you for reading this. I predict there is about 5-10 more chapters left in this saga before I begin writing the next one. If any of you want to send me a PM to see if you like the summary of the next Saga of the series and give me advice on plot elements and such, send me a PM. (Particularly those who have given me good, critical reviews about my story, you know who you are, I need your help!)**

**Also, this is the second to last story arc of the story, so the finale is rapidly approaching, and something much larger will be realized! (Those who read the VERY first version will know EXACTLY what I am talking about. For the other people, don't bother looking for it, I deleted it. It was worse than Rebecca Black's "Friday". ****_Yeek._****)**

**Another thing. I'm under a lot of pressure guys. My family's two cats are staring at me as I write this. Click that review button to make me feel less uneasy! **

**(Seriously, I think they're planning something. HALP!)**

**Also... FIFTY REVIEWS! OH YEAH! I'M ACCOMPLISHING SOMETHING!**

**_(I need a life...)_**

**0000000000**

Just like that, we landed on top of a table. Specifically, Alakazam's desk.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF LORD ARCEUS!?" He shouted as he fell backwards onto the floor.

"Hiya!" Manaphy said, "Sorry about that! I haven't teleported someone in over fifty years!"

Alakazam quickly calmed down.

"So you were successful. Excellent, now we can move forward on the task at hand."

He got out a map. The east and west sides were separated by the mountains, there was the Ashe Mountain range separating the two territories.

(A/N: I'm working on a map of the island to post of Deviantart, so I will post it when I get it done and post the link!)

"You will be going through the Black Labyrinth, it has some sort of a curse in it, making it so that the inside is impossible to chart. We cannot tell you what _exactly _to expect. but what is true is that there are savage Pokemon in that place. All of them will attack outsiders. Although, the Pokemon from the last spy mission died in that place, we know it wasn't the savage Pokemon, they were too weak for them to even phase. Whatever was in there might still be there. Be on your guard. If anything even _remotely _unusual is seen in there, _run._ Is that clear?"

We nodded.

Alakazam fired a small psychic wave.

"I have alerted your Monferno friend about your arrival, she should be in here in-"

"GUYS!"

"...Seconds..."

Regan ran into the room faster than an Accelgor, and Ursaring-hugged us. Which, needless to say, got an interesting reaction from Jake.

"Mmmhmhmhm..."

If I had a camera phone, this would be one of those moments. He likes her. I know it. I mean, come on, his aura pulsed and turned _pink._ When does _that _ever happen?

"Am I choking you?"

Jake took a second to reply.

"...Oh, yeah! Um..." He coughed a few times. "Almost crushed my ribs there."

Regan made a face. "Really." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Anyways!" I interrupted. "What's the plan for getting in?"

"Manaphy has agreed to switch your bodies with some Team Darkness members we caught snooping dangerously close to the town, looking for openings. What you need to do is try and blend in as easily as possible. Make your way to wherever Lucario and your friend are being held. I suggest doing it at the time there are the least amount of guards."

"Hold on," Jake said, "Why don't we just walk down the mountain?"

"It would be suspicious, even if you looked like their members. If you slip in undetected, then you can make the mission a lot more stealthy. That is why the Black Labyrinth is our only option. The demonic place guards itself in a way."

"This is it, guys." I said, "We're gonna get them back. We're gonna make sure they come back safe. Are we ready?"

Jake, Regan, and Crystal nodded. Alakazam motioned for us to make our preparations, and we left without another word.

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"These rascals were caught a few hours after you left for the island!"

A Golem was leading us through a dungeon. Manaphy followed us into the dungeon as we were looking at the various criminals imprisoned in the jail. Most of them didn't pay attention, others pleaded for help, whereas the rest of them were shouting insults so bad, I'm going to be a gentleman and not repeat them.

We were looking at four burly Dark-Types. Each of them looked like they would want to pick a fight with anybody that would just give them a look. They were a Poocheyena, Scraggy, Umbreon, Nuzleaf, Sneasel, and Stunky.

They all looked at us and raised eyebrows. Then they looked to Manaphy floating next to us.

"OH ARCEUS, NO!" All of them shouting, jumping to the very back of the cell, wide eyed. Manaphy laughed.

"NOT THAT!"

"Pick one to switch with. I recommend picking one with a similar build. That way it won't take as much time to get used to it."

I looked around at them. I immediately ruled out the Stunky, come on, who would want to be an atomic fart machine? Moving on, I didn't want four legs either, so Poocheyena was out. I looked at the remaining three, maybe Krokorok, no, the tail's too big, I'd fall over...

I settled on my decision.

"Scraggy."

"WHAT?! NO!" He yelled.

"Bind him and bring him out."

Two Rhydons entered the cell and brought out the Scraggy.

"I swear, kid, if you get yourself killed..."

"Shut up!" One of the Rhydon said, kicking him.

Crystal went with the Sneasel, Jake was gonna switch with the Nuzleaf, and Regan had no choice but to pick Umbreon.

"Alright. This _may _cause a _minor _life-threatening seizure..." Manaphy said.

"WHAT?!" Everyone screamed.

Her antennae flashed and we all blacked out.

**0000000000**

**Writer's block is a b-word. I wanted to make this chapter longer, but that's as far as I could go. Anyways, the Black Land Arc is beginning now! I can't wait!**

**See you guys next time!**

**Reviews HELP THE ECONOMY! THEY STOP GLOBAL WARMING! THEY END WORLD HUNGER! THEY... Screw it. Just review, alright?**


	21. The Aqua Gem

**IT IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN!**

**0000000000**

"Zoro, keep sniffing!"

Damian and his Zoroark were looking in the park in Rustboro City. That was where Crystal and Aaron were last. Maybe he could figure out what happened to them. His Zoroark, Zoro, kept sniffing the park, but she couldn't find anything.

"Damn... This is useless..." Damian said, frustrated, kicking a can across the sidewalk.

"ARK! ZO!"

Damian snapped back into attention. He ran over to where Zoro was and looked. The black fox pointed at a small necklace on the ground. He picked it up and looked at it. Zoro seemed to be interested.

"This isn't Crystal's... But it's beautiful..."

The jewelry was silver chained, expert craftsmanship, and a teardrop shaped blue gem on the medallion on the necklace. It gleamed a bright blue that seemed almost unnatural. How could something so beautiful end up in a place like this?

He put it in his pocket, as if he knew it would bring him answers later... Like a voice in his head said _Don't let this go. It is important. Handle it with care._

Unknown to Damian, the fountain behind him flowed faster. Neither he or his Pokemon took notice of it. They just continued on.

"Why did you think it was important?"

Zoro shrugged. She had the same feeling like Damian, she just thought it was important.

"I guess we could get a better look at it."

They walked off, defeated from the dead search. Another night wasted. No answers found. Just a necklace with a gem brighter than the bright sky.

**0000000000**

"Oh my! What beauty!"

With nothing better to do, Damian brought the gem to a friend of his, who's father was a Jeweler.

"The precision on the gem! The intense color! The gleaming silver! This is a work of art, my friend. And you..."

"Just found it laying around looking around the park. Zoro found it."

The Pokemon nodded in conformation.

"I see. Well, you are no criminal, but I still find it hard to believe that you found something as exquisite as this in the middle of a park in the middle of a city." He said.

"Maybe we can find who owned this?"

"This was custom made. More than likely, the owner had her initials carved into it somewhere... Oh! It's a locket!"

Damian took the necklace back and looked at it curiously. He opened the gem and found a small piece of parchment inside. It looked to be over two thousand years old!

"Arceus almighty," Said the Jeweler, "How old is this?"

Damian ignored him and opened the small note. He read the note. On the small paper he saw seven symbols.

A hand,

A flame,

A black diamond,

An eye,

A water droplet.

A tree on a mountain,

And a tornado.

Under the symbols, there were some words written in an old cursive.

_Keep this safe. Fear and Darkness are coming. We have failed, find the ones who will take our place._

Damian sat there confused. What was this? Who wrote this? Why was it lying in the middle of the sidewalk in the park at midnight?

_"Fate has a funny way of driving our lives."_ He remembered a quote from the famous Pokemon Master, Red, talking about how he was always at the right place at the right time during an interview with Gabby, a famous reporter.

"Thanks for your help." Damian said, shaking the man's hand.

"Any time." He replied, "Put that away. Someone could steal it and sell it for a pretty penny."

"Yeah."

Damian slipped the necklace around his neck and headed out the door.

He stuck his thumbs in his pockets and began to walk home casually, a stone cold look of thought on his face. He had so many unanswered questions about his sister and her friends, and now of this new necklace.

He found his usual shortcut back to the suburbs, in between a couple abandoned shops. The alleyway was always really creepy at night, but for some odd reason... It felt stranger.

He was being watched.

Whispers could be heard from both sides. A group of people stepped into the alleyway, surrounding him.

"He found one." One of the men said.

"Yes, he did." Another said.

"One step further. To him. To our goals."

The six man walked towards Damian. The man in the middle of the group stuck out his gloved hand and made a motion to the necklace.

"Who the hell are you people?"

One of the men behind him kicked him in the back, sending him tumbling to the ground. His backpack fell off and Zoro's Pokeball rolled out of the side pocket. Damian tried to reach it, but he was inches away. One of the men violently stamped on his hand.

"Give us the amulet, boy."

Damian panicked, he didn't know what was going on, but he needed to figure out what he could do. Before he could retaliate, the men began to mercilessly beat him until he was inches from passing out, when finally a hand shot out and snatched the amulet away.

"Got it."

"Excellent."

"Time to go."

"Indeed."

"Shall we kill the boy?"

"No. Leave him alive. We want all to witness our triumph. Soon the gateway will reopen on twilight of the night of the full moon. Then we will reconnect with the other half of our organization."

Damian heard their chanting as they walked away from him, leaving him beaten, bloody, and bruised on the pavement.

_"The Darkness covers the world. Our group will see through._

_Our cloaks whisper through the air, showing black hues._

_Time and Space were attacked but left aside._

_Until we find our master and stand by his side._

_We will reunite with the ones we have lost long ago._

_We will destroy and beat down our enemies and foes._

_We will stomp out the hope of the light and the less._

_Know our name well... We are Team Darkness."_

They were gone. The chanting echoed through Damian's head as he fell to the pavement and passed out, just as it began to rain.

**0000000000**

**WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH DAMIAN?!**

**Seriously. They show up in the human world too? What's going on!**

**Review and find out, we will return to Nathen after a small bit of necessary filler with Damian! Please, I didn't get that many reviews last chap. I need to know what you guys think of the story so far! We are finally moving out of the first saga within the next 10 chappies, so I want to know how this story is sounding to you guys!**

**[REVIEWS ARE GOOD FOR YOUR COLON, SO CLICK THAT BUTTON FOR BETTER HEALTH!]**


	22. Darkness Closing In

**Jeez. Writer's block REALLY hit me this time. I REALLY apologize for such a late update. They WILL be more frequent.**

**To keep myself occupied, I began working on the next saga of the series (first chappie already done and working on the second one :DDDDD)**

**I kept that writing brain stimulating the future of this story, plus a COMPLETELY original literature/manga story called Bionic 59. If you guys want more details on either of them to test read them, PM me. I need people to test read them (Note I said test read, because I'm too big of a dumb $$ to know how to use the Beta Reader feature. HELP MEH ON THAT UN PLZ)**

**Anyways, Chapter 22, next story Arc begins, and a bit more on Damian, if you kids are good.**

**00000000000**

_Damn... My head..._

I woke up in a huge daze. I couldn't remember what happened for a few seconds, then I remembered what happened. We switched bodies with a few of the Team Darkness Members...

Yeah. That's something to wake up to. Finding yourself in a completely different body. Even though it happened to me before, _and _I was expecting it this time, I was still completely disoriented.

"You okay? You guys hurting at all?" Manaphy asked,

"No, I feel fine." I said, examining myself. The only thing that was really different for me was the extra skin that covered my legs. After getting up, I tripped a few times, it was like one of those potato sacks that we would jump in at the school fair. I was able to get my footing, and I was okay.

"Why did I sign up for this?" I said.

"Because you want to rescue your friends."

I began regretting the decision.

"Don't worry. You'll be able to use all the abilities and attacks you knew in your old body. Your mind knows the abilities and reflexes. You will be fine in a fight."

"Good." I said, "At least I won't have to completely change my style."

Crystal, Jake and Regan eventually woke up, each of them disoriented as much as I was. After that, we began to make further plans about how we would carry out this mission. We would enter through the Black Labyrinth to the north and sneak into Team Darkness' territory, where we would go to their headquarters and free Aaron and Lucario, who were being held prisoner there. Hopefully the "thing" in that Labyrinth won't get us like it did the last group who tried the same thing.

Crystal took this opportunity to hone in on her Ice Moves, she was able to master Ice Beam and Ice Fang almost immediately. I was able to produce a nice Dark Pulse after a bit of training, something all Dark Types know. Although it was weak, I was sure it would be useful. Jake learned some more physical moves in his Nuzleaf body, and Regan spend most of the time working on getting used to four legs and no hands. She was having the most trouble, but got the hang of it eventually.

Training went on for quite a while, Manaphy constantly watching us and checking us, assuring us that there was a _small _chance that we would come down with serious brain damage, but she told us not to worry about it.

Phione wasn't making things easy. He kept using Psychic on us and tossed us around like rag dolls, so we learned that if he wanted to play, we would just say no, and immediately call over Manaphy if he didn't cooperate.

Weeks passed, we were used to our new bodies and were ready to head out to the Labyrinth. Alakazam had the Market's merchants give us free items to help us, which ranged from food to several tools, bandages, and herbs.

We started our way back down Ashe Mountain, while the sun was setting. The four of us got to look at the beauty of the horizon as we walked down.

"If we don't come back, I'll at least have this to remember." Crystal said,

"We're gonna make it." I said, "Don't have any doubt or we _will _fail. This is for Aaron and Lucario."

She nodded, "Right."

We continued in silence as we finally reached the bottom. We were told that there was an abandoned trail to the cave that was now the Black Labyrinth, and we were able to make it at midnight.

We stood at the entrance, a big gaping mouth in the side of an ugly mountain. The cave had this ominous presence in it. It made me feel uneasy, as if it was welcoming us to our impending doom.

I sensed something evil in that cave. It felt like nothing I had ever felt before. I gripped the bag I was holding tightly, trying to hold back the fear. I had never felt that terrified before in my life. Whatever was in there was expecting us, waiting for us to enter so it could tear us apart.

"On the count of three."

"One..." I said,

"Two..." Jake said, uneasy.

"THREE!" Regan shouted as we all charged into the cave.

00000000000

Damian woke up to some people staring down at him.

"Good, he's alright."

"Ugh... Where am I?"

"In an ambulance to the hospital. We got a call saying you were laying in an alleyway beaten to near death." One of the nurses said thoughtfully. "A few more hours and you would have bled out."

Damian sat up and looked at his body, he was covered in bandages, bruised and swollen all over.

"I barely recognize myself..." He said.

"Sorry to interrupt." A man next to him said, offering his hand, "I'm Detective Brooks. I want to know a bit more about your attackers so I can find them and bring them to justice."

Damian looked down.

"Detective! Stop!" The Nurse yelled, "He just woke up, let him rest!"

"No," Damian said, "I'm alright."

He recounted his entire experience, how he found a strange necklace lying around in the middle of the park, and how he was shortly and violently robbed from it, left for death.

"I didn't see any faces or hear any names." He said. "They wore gloves, but they did have a "D" on their robes."

"Sounds like another one of those crime syndicates," Detective Brooks said, "A friend of mine in the World Spy Organization, Looker, just finished gathering intel on Team Plasma, who's leader was charged of freezing over Unova. I'll relay this information to him. This stuff is his specialty. Did you catch the name of their organization?"

"Darkness," Damian said, "Team Darkness."

"I've never heard their name before. Either they have been working secretly all this time, or they are new. Either way, we need to find them before they begin causing problems. One thing I know about these people, they start small, then escalate to a major issue. Thanks, kid. I'll relay this information to Looker for investigation."

"No problem."

"Good, now can you give him some peace and quiet?" the Nurse said, "Sleep makes the body heal faster!"

"Absolutely, ma'am." Detective Brooks said, tipping his hat.

0000000000

"Yami."

"Yes, Sunaipu?"

"We have found the water amulet, but the victim gave away our existence."

"Well... I believe we should eliminate the witnesses. Also, have the team who found the amulet executed for not killing the child."

"Yes, sir."

0000000000

**Well, that wraps things up for this chapter. As you can see, Damian is in some DEEP trouble with Team Darkness, but who are these people, Yami and Sunaipu?**

**Oh, and that review button is a bit dusty, but give it a click, and share with me how the story is going! PLEASE, I feel like I'm missing something!**


	23. Souls Ascending

**I saw the trailers for some of the Pokemon anime for the next season of BW (Which I detested), I saw N in the trailer, and Team Plasma, and I was like, "IT'S ABOUT F*CKING TIME!" **

**Also, I looked at the trailers for the Magnagate specials, and they look halfway decent... But my prediction is that the English Dub will ruin them. Which is a shame, because Mystery Dungeon needs a better television spotlight than a few specials. I want to see a series for crying out loud, I know that's not gonna happen, but a guy can dream, right?**

**If you're having trouble about what to discuss with the reviews, why don't you make this a discussion?**

0000000000

The place was empty, not a soul was in that cave, but we could all feel the same presence that was described by so many. The dark presence, it was watching. Waiting, for a time to strike.

So yeah, I was a bit on edge.

We tried to not let that feeling drive us insane, because we were all bent on rescuing Aaron and Lucario from Team Darkness. I didn't know how we were gonna do it, but with stealth on our side, we thought we could pull it off.

So naturally, things went horribly wrong.

After two hours of running nonstop, we began to get confused.

"I think we passed this rock cluster before." Jake said,

"EVERY rock cluster looks like that!" Crystal said.

"We're lost. This maze is really confusing..." I said, sitting down. "Where the hell is the exit?!"

"This is hopeless." Regan said.

We stood there for a while, looking for a way out, a sign of an exit, nothing. Everything was the same. Every path seemed to go into endless darkness. Navigation was useless.

More wandering. There was nothing, the place was empty, the only sounds we heard were the dripping of water, and what sounded like a moan, which was unsettling, whatever was in the legend that killed that entire party of Pokemon who were venturing through the Labirynth, might have been still there.

Our suspicions were confirmed when we began hearing voices.

_What do we have here...?_

_Their bodies are true to us, but their souls are not..._

_That cannot be allowed..._

_Their souls will be added to us, to become more powerful..._

_The Spirits of their untruthful beings shall be absorbed into our being... Master will be pleased._

"WHO'S THERE?!" I demanded, "SHOW YOURSELVES!"

_So pushy, a bold one, knowing how deep trouble he is in._

_Soon your souls will be ours, forever!_

In front of us, one being emerged from the mist of the cavern. It looked like a clay pot with a swirling purple mist coming out of it. I could make out a large, evil, merciless face in the mist. It was grinning and laughing.

_We are Spiritomb, the third commander of Team Darkness. We will absorb your souls. No one shall pass._

I clenched my fists. This was the presence I sensed before.

"Let's do this, guys." I said, "We can take it."

It made an evil, raspy laughing noise, it didn't sound natural, like thousands of voices all chuckling at the same time... In perfect unision.

_Many have tried, lost soul, but all have failed. They have all been added to our being, making us stronger, making us one._

"We're not afraid." I said, holding my ground.

Three of us were up and ready to fight, Jake, however, was scared out of his wits, to the point where he was cowering behind a rock.

"What's wrong?!"

"My... Parents..." He said, "They were sent into the Black Labyrinth for a mission into the West Side... But they didn't come back..."

_Two Serperiors... We remember them well. Their souls are ours._

Jake looked terrified, the thing that ended his parents lives was standing right before him.

Next thing I knew, Spiritomb launched itself at me, I felt myself getting pulled into the swirl of it, and I blacked out.

**000000000000**

Nathen's borrowed body went limp and fell over, the Scraggy he used as a vessel was nothing more but a soulless husk, it was alive, but only by basic reflexes and breathing. Nathen's soul had been eaten and consumed, added to Spiritomb's power.

Before either could react, Regan and Crystal suffered the same fate, their bodies falling limp to their souls being extracted from their bodies.

Jake screamed.

He looked at the bodies in fates worse than death, they used to be his friends. They were all empty.

The Snivy in a Nuzleaf's body freaked out, he lost his parents and his only friends to this monstrous creature. He was scared, grieving, but also... Enraged.

Jake felt a newfound power in him, it grew out of his rage and anger, literally changing the atmosphere to pure confidence and anger. Jake was going to avenge his friends. He was going to avenge his family. He was going to beat- no, _kill_, the demon.

"YOU WILL REGRET THIS!" Jake shouted at the top of his lungs. He summoned thousands of leaves that flew around the area, attacking Spiritomb.

_Argh... A strong soul... I must weaken you first... Your emotions have walled our soul draining abilities... We will have to kill you first._

"I WON'T LET YOU HAVE THE CHANCE!"

Jake ran forward at blinding speeds, causing Spiritomb to lose track of him.

"Behind you."

"LEAF BLADE!"

Jake summoned a giant glowing leaf on his arms and began his slice, but...

_Stop!_

That voice...

A face appeared in the swirl of the Spiritomb. A proud, elegant, reptilian face. One that looked upon Jake for so long with great respect and pride.

"Mom..."

_I am dissappointed in your actions, Jake, you are a coward, not proud, and a complete fool. I never loved you, your father hates you. You didn't come to save us from this mission. You could have told us not to go. We have lost everything because of you, you sorry excuse for a living creature._

Jake fell backwards. He knew it wasn't real, but it copied his mother's tone of voice, her smug attitude, but it sounded colder.

"No..."

The face shifted to Nathen's face.

_You didn't save me, Jake, I hate you, you're not a good friend, you're just useless, weak._

Regan...

_I was right to try and poison you, you are too weak to even try and fight against someone stronger than you. You idiotic, good for nothing coward!_

"SHUT UP!"

Jake regained himself.

"I KNOW ALL OF YOU, AND I KNOW NONE OF YOU WOULD SAY THAT!" He seethed. "YOU'RE THE COWARD FOR TRYING TO TRICK ME INTO LETTING MY GUARD DOWN!"

Jake once again, charged up his Leaf Blade, but this time, he did not hold back.

"YOU'RE MINE!"

The blade sliced through Spiritomb's cloud of souls and went straight for the pot it was dwelling in. It shattered into dust.

The explosion blew Jake backward, a violent black void erupted and rose to the cave ceiling, before finally fading into nothing.

The remains of the clay pot remained still, but then something happened.

Small wisps of blue light slowly flowed out of the remains of Spiritomb's vessel. Thousands of them were cheering, crying, even laughing. They were all souls captured by Spiritomb, finally free from it's swirling prison.

They all flew straight through the cave's ceiling, and out the mountain.

The wisps of light could be seen from all around the island, capturing the eyes of all who looked at it, it was an eerie beauty, but still felt... Peaceful...

In the Darklands, Houndoom, the first commander, looked to the skies and saw the blue wisps. He stood there at the top of the tower, wondering what had happened...

Then it hit him.

Someone had finally killed Spiritomb, the Guardian of the Black Labyrinth.

He stood there in awe, but rage finally built inside of him, he roared and bellowed in rage, angered at what could have happened. He knew something was coming, and he knew why.

He came to a decision.

"GATHER THE FIGHTERS! TONIGHT, WE INVADE ASHE MOUNTAIN! THEY WILL PAY FOR THE DEATH OF THE THIRD COMMANDER!"

**0000000000**

Five souls remained behind. Three immediately flew into the bodies of his friends, in which they slowly groaned and got up.

The other two flew around Jake, he could feel a vibe from them... Pride, love, satisfaction. A familiar feeling.

"Mom... Dad..."

The wisps seemed to have fluttered as bit, before flying after the souls that had ascended before them. They had thanked Jake before finally ascending. One last loving deed to their son.

He sat back down and cried in happiness, knowing that he had brought peace to his parents, and saved his friend's lives.

**0000000000**

**Now, THIS chapter I had planned for a LONG time. I wanted Jake to get some considerable development, seeing as all the other characters have already but him, and I wanted his situation with his parents to be a big part of this story, and I think I pulled it off. How do you think I did? Tell me in the reviews, and I'll see you all next time for the next chapter!**


	24. The Mystery Of Damian's Predicament

**WHOA. LOOK, I'M NOT DEAD!**

**Sorry about the long wait, I ignored this story for a while for two reasons: writer's block and I was planning (And am now in the process of writing) a story on FictionPress. The first chapter is up, so here's the link!**

s/3117041/1/

**I'd appreciate it if you read the chapter and give me a good review telling me what I need to improve on, because it's not a fanfiction, it means that I can take a few more risks. Because it is still in the early stages of writing, we can find the problems early. Rewriting this story twice has really confused a few of you. So to prevent that from happening, I am calling all of YOU to help me. Take twenty minutes to read Anima, give me a review, and go about on your business. **

**00000000000**

I woke up to see Jake peacefully sitting on a rock. He seemed changed... He seemed peaceful, but more confident. His aura seemed more powerful, too. I sat up, and dizzily fell back over. Crystal and Regan were standing over me in worry, but were relieved to see that I was alright.

"Ungh... What happened?"

Jake looked at me. "Oh, you're awake!"

He told me what happened.

"Man... I missed a lot."

"We all did." Said Crystal, "At least we're all safe."

The cave seemed less ominous after that. The presence of Spiritomb had disappeared thanks to Jake. If it weren't for him, we would have followed the Pokemon who failed to complete the mission before.

We knew not to be careless anymore. We had one motivation; find Aaron and Lucario, and get back so Manaphy can switch us back into our bodies. Nobody said anything. We just headed towards the exit after finally regaining our energy.

The light at the end of the cave was bittersweet. The fact that we found our way out was great, but knowing the evil place we would enter into would be even worse. One look at the wasteland told us we were in for hell.

The entire area was flat, grey, and barren. I saw several plumes of smoke all over. No life was anywhere to be seen, it was even more depressing than the Black Cave. The only thing that we could see in the endless wasteland was the single tower in the center of the horizon.

"Let's go." I said.

We nodded and began to walk towards the dark tower.

**0000000000000000000**

"You should be fine. All your major injuries are almost healed, but lay low for a while."

Damian thanked the Nurse for helping him and left the hospital. There, Detective Brooks was standing, leaning on a tree.

"Hello, Damian, I hope you're feeling better,"

"Yeah," he said, "You needed something?"

"Well, seeing as the nurse wouldn't let me get within fifty feet of you during your 'condition' to question you, I waited until you were better. Now we can talk."

He glanced around, then took out a Pokeball.

"Lucario, help search the area for spies."

He let a Lucario out of its Pokeball, who then glanced around for spies using his aura. It let out a satisfied bark, bowed, and was let back in.

"The coast is clear, but I would prefer to go someplace a bit more private. Do you mind following me?'

Damian shook his head, stuck his hands in his pockets, and began to walk with Detective Brooks. They went into an office building and sat in an office.

"Now then," Detective Brooks said, "I want to let you know that you are in danger of another attack. With the several organizations we have dealt with, Rocket, Galactic, Cipher, and recently Plasma, we have come to learn that anybody who witness their plans is a dead man. Several hundred have died from this cause."

"What about Aqua and Magma?" Asked Damian,

"They were more environmental extremists than a threat to the world's well being, nobody really took them seriously until they became a major problem, but they never resorted to assassination." Brooks said, "The others, on the other hand, were, and occasionally still are, major threats. That man Ghetsis in Team Plasma ran a whole 'nother branch that even its leader, Natural, wasn't even aware of."

"That was in the news, the whole conspiracy," Damian said.

"Yes, yes, but we're getting off topic." Brooks said, "Now these people look like they are much more cunning and devious, I am telling this to you for your own good. Until this new threat is apprehended, we need you and your family to go into hiding."

"What?!" Damian screamed, suddenly standing up, nearly knocking Detective Brooks' coffee onto his lap, "My sister is still missing! What if she comes back?! They probably know everything about me, if she comes back and they find her..."

He collapsed back into his chair.

"I don't care what happens to me, I just want my little sister to be okay!"

Detective Brooks sat silently in his chair for a while.

"You do realize that she could be gone forever? Hell, Nathen Hill could have vanished because of this organization, he could have witnessed something like you did, and now he's gone, no evidence of where he went or where he could be. Now the two people he's closest to are gone as well. Do you want to risk your life for one that could already be lost?"

"Yes." Damian said without a second thought. "If there's still a chance, I'll take it."

Detective Brooks rolled his eyes.

"This is a naive decision... But I must comply with your decision." He said, "I will, however, have you on watch, so if you are attacked, you can be saved, and we can learn more about this new group."

"Deal."

"Check back with me whenever any information comes up. Until then, stay safe."

Damian left the office, Detective Brooks took up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Yes, Looker, I found a way to get information on Team Darkness. Yes, I have confirmed they are hostile. I'll meet you later."

Detective Brooks hung up the phone and looked outside the office and saw Damian walking down the hall.

"Good luck, kid."

**00000000000**

**Short chapter, I know, but I had this sitting out for a while, and couldn't figure out a good way to add on, so here it is. I promise I'll pay more attention to this story and finish up this saga, because I want to get going on the next one. (Been outlining it on paper for the last year now, it's EPIC.) My plan is to finish this as fast as possible. **

**Also, please check out Anima and review it, here's the link again.**

s/3117041/1/

**And as Markiplier would say, I will see you in the next chapter! Bye bye!**


	25. Damian's Choice and Nathen's Friend

**Hey there! Sorry for the long wait.**

**Sophmore year in HS, I was up to my neck in homework. Then exams. Then vacation. Long story short, I was unable to update.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**By the way, with X and Y coming out this October, I have been debating with myself on whether or not the Kalos Region should be a main setting in the next story... I don't know yet because of the fact that so little about the story of X and Y has been revealed.**

**00000000000000**

"I hate this place."

The four of us were out of the cave and we finally were able to get a good look at the wasteland that Team Darkness controlled. It was dry, dark, and miserable. Pokemon could survive in this environment? There were no plants or water, how were they supposed to survive?

Jake was in high spirits, however, seeing as he saved our lives, and our afterlives, in that cave, plus he killed one of the commanders, Spiritomb.

"I can't stand this place." Crystal said.

"Yeah," Regan said, "They've completely ravaged this place, it's unnatural."

"They all centered in that tower?" I asked.

"I guess so, that's the only place that looks inhabited."

"Then that's our destination." Jake said.

"Aaron, Lucario..." I whispered. "We're coming."

We all looked at each other, knowing the risk of this mission, and charged forward.

**0000000000**

Detective Brooks took another sip of his coffee. The men who attacked Damian really aroused some questions. Other than the fact that they were a crime syndicate, nothing really stood out about their plans. He was at a standstill.

He leaned backwards on his chair, sighing. He pushed his glasses back onto his eyes and put his hand on his chin, thinking. He needed something, a clue, evidence, anything that could give him a lead as to who these people were!

He thought back to his interview with Damian Jacobs, their victim. Two things didn't make sense to him. One, why didn't Damian use his Pokemon, and two, why didn't these men? Come to think of it, the men didn't carry any weapons on them either, according to Damian, so why were they able to beat Damian even when he had his Pokemon with him?

He didn't get the full story, he decided. He called Damian's family and had him come over for questioning a second time. However, he made a second phone call.

"Looker, I'm going to need you to come here. I want you to meet this guy, and I need your input while we're conducting the interview."

"Understood, Brooks. I'll be there soon."

**0000000000**

"Now, then, Damian." Detective Brooks said, compiling his notes from the last interview. "From your testimony, we were able to find a couple unanswered questions."

Damian rested his arms on the table, looking at the two detectives sitting across the table from him.

"Why didn't you use your Pokemon to fight off the members of Team Darkness?"

Damian thought long and hard. Why didn't he? He was at an advantage, his entire team was on his belt, ready to go! So why did he just stand there in fear? He dealt with criminals on his journey before, so why did he freeze up then?

"I... Don't have an answer for that, detective." He said. "I have no idea myself... I just... Felt some sort of a force, preventing me from using my Pokemon. I can't explain it."

Brooks raised his eyebrows. "I see." He said, writing down Damian's statement.

"May I cut in?" Looker said.

"Absolutely." "Sure." The two said, looking at Looker.

"A force that prevented you from using your Pokemon... Even though you were fully capable of doing so..." He contemplated. "Intriguing. Only one thing comes to mind that would match your description."

"And that is?" Brooks asked.

"First, let me give you some background information. Obviously you know about the Psychic Type, correct?"

Both nodded.

"And you are also aware that some humans are capable of using Psychic abilities as well, correct?"

Again, they nodded.

"Then there's your answer." Looker said. "If there are humans capable of using Psychic attacks, then I'm willing to bet there are humans who can use other types of attacks."

Looker pulled up a webpage containing a piece of ancient text, with an illustration of a man with seven symbols surrounding him.

"Through translating, archaeologists have discovered that there were a select group of humans in ancient times, who were said to be able to use the attacks of Pokemon. It was determined a myth, because there is no concrete evidence that they ever truly existed. However, Damian, your encounter may have proven their existence. Specifically, it proves that some humans can use Dark Type moves."

"Huh?!"

"The Dark Type, as you know, is all about hindering your opponent and creating obstacles. They must have done the same thing, casting evil aura to intimidate you and prevent you from doing anything."

"And you're sure that's why the events unfolded like they did?"

Looker looked downward.

"Well... No. It's just a hunch. However, by taking a few risks, we could expose them. If, Damian, you are willing to cooperate."

Damian looked at Looker in the eyes.

"If it means putting those freaks in jail, then yes, I'm willing."

"Excellent." Looker said. "We're going to use you as bait. We're going to have constant surveillance on you, like before, however, we encourage you to go to areas less crowded. If my predictions are correct, then they will come after you to finish you off. There we will ambush and arrest them, then we can find out what separates them from other organizations that we have dealt with in the past. Brooks, I wan you to tail Damian with only a couple subordinates. Make sure you are armed with powerful Pokemon, and weapons to help brin these criminals down. Use force if it's necessary."

"Are you sure you want to do this, kid?" Detective Brooks asked.

"Absolutely." Damian said. "I don't know why, but I think they are connected to my sister's and her friends' dissapearance. I want to do it to find and protect her."

"A very brave decision." Looker said. "Good luck. I'll continue to dig up information here."

Damian nodded nervously, then left, with Brooks following him close behind.

0000000000

"Finally!"

After walking for what seems for almost an entire day, we made it to the tower. It stood high, poorly built by dead wood and stone. We saw two guards outside. Two sneasels.

"We're returning from patrol." I said in a scraggly voice.

They nodded and let us in.

"Where do you think the cells are?" Jake whispered.

"Down." I said. "In my dream, Lucario was held underground. Let's find some stairs or something."

We wandered around. The place was surprisingly empty, no Pokemon was insight with the exception of the occasional Murkrow with a letter in its beak. Something wasn't right. I could feel it.

We found a staircase that led to the bottom floors. Most of the cells were empty, or with a Pokemon that gave us an angry look. Each of them had a slab over their cell stating their crimes. Most if them said "Murder," all of them were former members, that go into fights with other members and killed them. We didn't stay in that section for very long.

Eventually, we came across one cell. In it was an Abra, sleeping I. The corner. Over his cell, the slab said "Intruder of territory, found near West River."

Aaron.

I shook the bars and he woke up.

"What do you want?!" He said angrily, "You gonna torture me again?"

"Shh!" I whispered, putting a finger to my lips. "Aaron, it's me!"

Aaron took a closer look at me, as if he was reading my mind.

"Oh thank Arceus, Nathen, it is you!" He said, getting up and running to the bars, however, he was yanked back, because a chain was bound to his neck.

"Get me out of here!" He whispered.

"We're working on it." I said.

Looking around, I saw a set of keys on a hook across the hall. I picked them up, and inserted one into the cell. It didn't work.

"Damn it..."

I tried all of them, finally, I found one that fit, opened the door, and unlocked Aaron's bonds. He immediately got up and hugged me.

"Thank you, buddy."

"No problem." I said.

Aaron and I had been best friends since we were in kindergarten. We shared so many good memories...

"Ahem."

Jake was tapping his foot on the ground, impatiently gesturing to the rest of the cells.

"Save catching up for later. We need to find Lucario."

"Right." I said.

"Who's that?" Aaron asked.

"My mentor, he's a shiny Lucario who taught me everything about aura."

"But... You're a Scraggy."

"Long story. I'm actually a Riolu, I'll explain later. We need to find him before-"

"Nathen..."

"Shut up! I'm trying to think!"

"They-"

"What?"

"They had a Lucario taken up to the top of the tower. He passed by my cell about an hour ago."

I froze. I looked up, I knew why nobody was in the tower. They were all at the top. They were going to witness the death of one of their most powerful enemies. I remember one thing crossing through my mind when I heard Aaron say that.

_We're too late._

**000000000000**

**Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to formally apologize for that hiatus. I was out for personal reasons, but let me assure you, I am back and ready to roll. Expect the next chapter to come up in a few days.**

**Also, for the people who went to to check out the story I had uploaded there, I would like to say that it is no longer available to read there. After the encouraging reviews that it got, and several people in my personal life saying that it could potentially be a great PUBLISHED work, I took it down in fear of someone stealing it so that I could work on it in private. I spent a majority of my hiatus working on it.**

**So, I hope you stick around for the next chapter, and in about five to ten more chapters, the conclusion of the first story of this series! Stay tuned!**


	26. The Dealer

**Hey look, I've updated within a week! Is it Christmas?**

**Got a new laptop in school, so that means I can give this story my undevided attention and not fight over who gets to use the computer. So that means things will change around here, I shall update once a week until this story is finished! Hopefully.**

**0000000000**

"Executed?!"

I fell to my knees. I was so close to saving Lucario... I never got a chance to thank him for the training he game me.

I got back up.

"No." I said. "I don't care if I have to fight thousands of Dark Types, I will save him."

"Let's not be too hasty." Jake said, "There's hundreds up there. We can't fight that many, no matter how good we are."

"We may not have to."

I looked and saw Aaron with his arms crossed.

"While running from Team Darkness, I was able to teleport a bit, but they caught me. I think if I concentrated enough, I could at least get us out of the tower, but we'd have to book it if we did."

"Right." I said.

"We could all die." Jake said.

"We'll do it for Lucario." Regan said. "Team Darkness is evil, and they won't kill him. Not while I'm still standing."

We all nodded, and headed up to the execution chamber. Aaron had to hide so that nobody would notice him. The plan was we would find a way to free him, then we would run to Aaron, where he would try to teleport us out.

Jake, Regan, Crystal and I all ran up the stairs through the tower, determined to get Lucario back. Eventually we found our way into the room where they would kill him. It was now or never, we were going to rescue him, after everything that he did for this island. He didn't deserve to die this way.

**00000000000**

Damian decided to go out for a night of fun.

He had been stressed out from everything, his sister missing, getting attacked by that crime syndicate, and now he was being followed by both Detective Brooks and Team Darkness. He needed some time to just unwind.

A Game Corner had opened recently in Rustboro, lots of kids went there after school to unwind. He decided he would finally go there after a while.

He opened the door and heard the ding from the bell. In there there were a few dozen kids on various arcade games, battle simulators and computer games, enjoying each other's company, laughing and whooping. He finally let out a sigh of relief, he was finally in a place where he could unwind.

He sat down at the bar, where the owner of the place came to greet him.

"Hey, Damian, haven't seen you in a while, what's going on?" He said,

"I'd rather not talk about it, Clark." He said. "I just came to enjoy myself."

"Sure. What would you like?"

"Root Beer Float." He said, "Small Ice chunks covering the top."

"Always a good choice." Clark said, going to make Damian his drink.

"Hey, look who it is!"

Damian looked around to see a good friend of his, Justin, coming through the doors.

"I haven't seen you since the Unova League!"

"Hey, Justin."

"'Hey, Justin?'" He said, offended, "That's all you have to say after never seeing your best friend for over six months? I am ashamed!"

"Make it two, Clark."

"You got it!"

"Come sit down, Justin."

Justin came over and sat down on a stool next to Damian.

"That's more like it." Justin said, taking a float from Clark, beginning to sip it. "So, what's going on with you? What did you do while I was in Kanto?"

"I went to Sinnoh to sight-see, and ran into their current champion while walking on Mt. Coronet."

"You're kidding," Justin said. "You met Cynthia?!"

"Battled her, too." Damian said, taking a sip from his drink.

"WHOA!" Justin said, "You did?! How did you do?"

"I lost." Damian said, "But it was a very close fight."

"Really?" Justin said.

"Yeah, so after I toured around Sinnoh, I stopped back in Unova to visit my Uncle, and I picked up an Oshawott for my sister, and gave it to her. Couple weeks later, she went missing."

"Oh, man..." Justin said. "And she was cute, too."

Damian gave Justin a dirty look.

"Hey, I'm an honest guy."

"Sometimes, a bit too honest." Damian said, "So now I have some detectives working with me and my family to help find her. I'm under a lot of stress."

"Hey, no problem." Justin said, patting Damian on the back. "You'll find her. Don't worry."

"Thanks." He said.

They heard the sound of cards flipping, and saw Clark dealing for a game of Go Fish. The way he shuffled them seemed impossible. He was effortlessly able to flip the cards from one hand to another flawlessly, and his hands were very far apart. He was able to flip them in an arc over his head. Every time he shuffled, it was always a show.

"How does he do that?!" Justin said.

"Dunno." Damian said. "I'll see you later. I need to get to bed."

"Bye."

Damian walked out of the Game Corner and began to head home. He had to cross through the woods in order to get home faster. He would hear some ruffling behind him.

"Brooks." He sighed.

He continued to walk, hands in his pocket. It was another casual night, the Pokemon of the night beginning to come out. Damian listened to a Nocktowl hooting in the branches of the trees.

Something felt off.

He felt the same pressure as before. He knew they were there. They were coming to finish the job.

He heard a click.

Damian turned around to see Detective Brooks with a pistol in his hands.

"GET YOUR HANDS UP!"

"What?!" Damian said,

"Not you, you idiot! Look!"

Damian looked back to see a man standing there. He was in a small suit, glasses covering his grey eyes, a strange looking "D" on the right side of his chest. He had a strange thing in his hand... A deck of cards.

"Clark?"

"My name is not Clark. My name is Kan'ningu." He said, "I am the second Commander for Team Darkness."

"HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM, NOW!"

"So hostile." He said. "I would love to chat, but I am on a mission, here, so could you kindly shut your mouth?"

Brooks turned off the safety and cocked the gun. "Get on the ground."

"I guess not."

Kan'ningu moved at a blinding speed. Rushing past Damian and appearing behind Brooks, a card drawn on Brooks' neck."

"I apologize, my good man, I gave you a chance to leave... You ignored me."

Brooks laughed. "You're threatening me with a piece of paper?"

"I'm sure you would like to believe that, but unfortunately this will be more than a small paper cut. Allow me to demonstrate."

He took another card and sliced it in the air to his left. He gestured towards a tree next to them.

"Look, mister detective. This is what a piece of paper can do."

The tree fell, with a clean cut through its trunk, to the ground. Detective Brooks' eyes widened in horror.

"Wha-what is this?"

"The last show you will ever see."

Damian screamed, as Kan'ningu sliced the card on Brooks' neck, time seemed to stop, as blood leaked from his clean wound across his throat. He fell to the ground and gurgled, throwing his hand to his neck, not believing what just happened to him. He let out one last breath, and died at the feet of Kan'ningu.

"This is what you get for revealing us to other people. Everyone who knows about us... Doesn't last long."

He took his card and pointed it at Damian, still frozen in fear, tears streaming down his cheeks at the loss of his friend.

"Now then... I believe it's your turn to play, and there will be no mistakes this time."

**0000000000**

**Well, that escalated quickly!**

**Team Darkness makes their move finally after all this time! It looks grim for both Nathen and Damian on both their ends. Let's hope they turn out okay.**

**R.I.P. Detective Ryan Brooks. You will be remembered.**


	27. The Tragic Return Home

**UPDATE: PLEASE READ!**

**Last time, lots of things were going wrong. I left you all on a cliffhanger. I feel evil. **

**Also, looking at the views, this story has gotten almost 5k views! Thanks everyone for checking this story out! Don't forget to click that review button! That hiatus I went on has caused it to get a bit dusty... Why don't you guys clean it off and give me some good constructive criticism? It will improve my writing, and also, improve this story.**

**This story has less than 10 chapters left before the end. I have made it my goal to have it finished by this November, I have been working on the sequel, which will be released in December. It's truly something to read, I was planning to release that one as the first one, but I realized that it needed to be preluded to explain a lot of it.**

**So, with about 7-10 chapters left, let's get this story up to 100 reviews by then! If we get to that number, I'll release a preview of the first chapter of Pokemon - Explorers of the Beyond: The Aura Society Saga before December for all of you to enjoy!**

**Anyways, I apologize for this long $$ author's note, now, on with the show!**

**0000000000**

"Now then, it's time I deal with you."

Damian stumbled back, traumatized by what had just happened. Detective Brooks, his friend and protector, laid dead at his feet. Killed by Kan'ningu, the assassin from Team Darkness, and former friend to Damian.

"Quite the shame you had to get involved with our affairs, boy." Kan'ningu said, preparing a card to kill Damian, "I liked you, you were one of my best customers... Well, I guess nothing can ever be perfect."

Damian had to act fast. Quickly, he rummaged through his belt and found a metal ball. He took it out and looked at the icon on its front. He sighed in relief.

The second Kan'ningu launched at Damian, he ducked out of the way and released the Pokemon in the ball, his Alakazam.

"TELEPORT ME AWAY FROM HERE, ANYWHERE! MAKE IT AS FAR AS YOU CAN!"

He felt a sharp pain in his arm. He grabbed onto the Alakazam's arm, and felt a shift. He felt weightless for a moment, then all of a sudden, crashed on some grass. He got up and rubbed his head.

He felt wet on his right arm. Looking at it, there was a huge gash there, bleeding profusely. He grabbed his pocketknife and grabbed a part of his shirt and ripped a huge sheet of cloth off of it, tying it around the wound to slow the bleeding.

"Thank you." He said to his Alakazam, "You saved my life."

The Psychic Type bowed its head, and Damian returned it.

"Now..." Damian said, looking around, completely in survival mode, adrenaline kicking in from his encounter with the Team Darkness member, "Where the hell am I?"

He began to walk to the top of the hill behind him and climbed it, random rodent Pokemon running away from him. He let out his Zoroark for protection, in case that he ran into a powerful wild.

He reached the top and looked over the the view, trying to get his bearings.

"Let's see..." He said, looking around. "There's a large mountain range..."

Noticing the large, grey mountain in the middle of the range... He was able to figure out where he was.

"That's Mt. Silver!" Damian exclaimed, "And I'm facing east... I must be in Johto!"

Damian couldn't use his Alakazam to teleport back, as it was too tired. They traveled over the ocean and miles inland to a foreign region, it would be days before it could use even the simplest psychic moves. Damian was stuck there for a while, at least he put some distance between him and Kan'ningu. He was at least relieved about that.

He came to that realization, Detective Brooks was dead. Damian, acknowledging his safety, had finally realized what had happened. He broke down, beginning to cry over the loss of his friend... He was dead.

Damian realized something else. No doubt if Team Darkness was able to find him, he was sure that they could find his family.

"Oh, man..."

No doubt, they would find and kill his parents! What if Crystal returned, would she be in danger, too?

"I need to get home fast!" Damian said, running west, hopefully to one of Johto's cities, or at least a route with a trainer he could ask for help.

"Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I'm coming!"

He ran faster.

**00000000000**

"So... Anybody have any bright ideas?"

We were all standing behind an archway in the room where Team Darkness had gathered for Lucario's execution. There were hundreds of them in there.

"We could pretend Aaron is also going to be executed and use that to walk onto the stage." Regan said.

"That sounds dangerous." I said.

"You have any other ideas? Then share it."

I remained silent for a moment.

"That's what I thought."

"Could we please come up with something that WON'T kill us?" Aaron said.

"That was the risk of us coming here." Crystal said. "Deal with it."

Aaron raised his hands in defense. "Fine."

We looked back into the room.

"So we're going with Regan's suicidal plan." Jake said, "Fantastic. I don't suppose we could just go? Lucario didn't want you to come here anyway."

I looked at him, fuming with anger.

"What?" He asked. "Think about it. You've told me about your dreams. He thinks you're someone important. If he values your life over his own, he would have never wanted you to come here. Have you ever thought of that?"

I looked down.

"I know it sounds heartless, but I've heard him talk about you, you are like a son to him. He gave himself over to save your life."

I looked into the room again.

"Look at how many Pokemon are in there, Nathen, even if we just charge in there and grab him, how will we defend ourselves? We have Aaron, let's just get out of here before anyone gets hurt, or worse... Killed."

Aaron clutched his head.

"What's wrong?!" Crystal asked.

"Someone's... Contacting me through my head..."

"What is it?!"

His eyes flashed a bright white.

"He... Says it's Lucario." He said.

I focused, and around his head I saw a cloud of shining blue aura. It was at the end of a stream coming through the door and into the execution room. He must have been contacting Aaron through telepathy.

"That's right... Lucarios can have minor psychic abilities..." Crystal said, "This is amazing."

"Do you have to marvel about this now? We're in a situation, here!" Regan said,

"I'll repeat what he has to say." Aaron said. "_Nathen, thank you for the thought. I am grateful you were able to rescue your friend._"

I felt a lump in my throat, tears forming in my eyes.

"_But I am beyond saving. Take your friend and return to Ashe Mountain. Tell them they are preparing for an invasion within the next day."_

"No... Please..." I said.

_"I know you are determined to rescue me, but I was willing to give my life to save yours. I am sorry I was not able to help you achieve mastery of your powers. But, fate has its reasons. The teacher must leave the student someday. Today is that day. I want you to take what I have taught you and use it to help you fight."_

I broke down to my knees.

_"Just save yourself. Aaron, I want you to teleport them to Ashe Mountain. Tell them about the invasion so that you all can prepare, and good luck."_

I wiped my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Nathen." Crystal said.

"Aaron," Regan said, "Do you have enough power to do this?"

"I... Think so. Join hands. We all need to be holding on to each other in order for this to work."

We all joined together and Aaron closed his eyes again. I felt him summon a great deal of psychic power. I felt myself falter a bit, I felt tired.

"I am borrowing a bit of your mind's power to do this. You might be a bit tired for a few minutes."

I felt myself go weightless, and we were gone.

**0000000000**

We reappeared in the middle of the main hall, surprising many Pokemon in their commute.

"We need to find Alakazam." Crystal said.

We rushed off to the guild, where he was, speaking with him, was an old face.

"Luxray!" I said, running up to him.

"Hello, Nathen, how are you?"

'"Long story." I said, "Listen, both of you, we need to get ready."

"For what?!" Alakazam said, "Where's Lucario?"

"We... Couldn't save him."

Luxray's jaw fell open.

"He wanted us to go without him. He wanted us to tell you that Team Darkness plans on invading... Full force... Tomorrow night."

Alakazam's eyes widened. "My word... Tomorrow?!"

I nodded.

"If you'll please excuse. me."

He concentrated and sent out another Psychic message.

_THIS IS URGENT. I HAVE JUST RECIEVED INTELLIGENCE THAT TEAM DARKNESS PLANS ON INVADING TOMORROW NIGHT. I ADVISE YOU ALL TO PREPARE FOR BATTLE. _

_"_Did everyone get the message?" Aaron asked.

That question was answered with the sound of panic and screams.

Alakazam sighed.

"I'll go take care of this." Luxray said, running off to calm down the crowd.

"Now then." Alakazam said, "There's the matter of getting you back into your bodies. Manaphy has been waiting for you. I'll go tell her you are back. Meet us in the dungeons, please."

**0000000000**

"Unfortunately, we've had to keep your bodies in perfect condition to fight, so we had to feed them some of the best food that we have. The scumbags don't deserve it."

The Rhydon gestured over to the four Team Darkness members currently occupying our bodies. They all looked pretty healthy, and satisfied.

"I ain't complaining." Said the one in my body. "We should do this more often."

"Can it!" Rhydon said, kicking the bars.

"You know you can't do anything to us, pops, these bodies are important, aren't they?"

"We've had to keep them chained up so they couldn't do anything to sabotage you four. There haven't been any issues, but I think they may be planning something."

I heard them all snickering in the cell.

"Where is she?!" He asked.

"Here I am!" Manaphy popped out in front of him, startling Rhydon, he fell backward and onto the ground with a large _thud. _

"Alright, let's get this over with." I said, "I can't stand this any more."

"You got it!"

Manaphy concentrated and I felt myself black out again.

**0000000000**

I woke up and felt normal again... Well, SORT OF normal. I was a Riolu again, taller, stronger, and ready to go. It was almost as if I hadn't changed. I tested my muscles a little bit and ran in place. I felt a hundred and ten percent.

I looked and saw Regan, back in her Monferno body, Crystal in her Oshawott, and Jake in his... Servine?

I looked at him confused. He was awake, but looked just as confused as I was.

"When did you evolve?" I asked.

"I don't know!" He replied. "I have such tiny arms..."

Manaphy interjected. "Did you get into any fights while you were gone?"

"Yes, I did." Jake said.

"This happened to a few of my victims- er... Subjects." She said, "Occasionally they evolve the second they get back into their old body, because they reached their point in their switched body... But the spirit is always attached to its original body, so when they join back together, they balance each other out, and they evolve."

"Whoa. That's awesome."

"You're not the one with tiny arms, Nathen! I don't like this at all!"

"Excuse me."

We looked and saw Luxray standing in the doorway.

"Come with me."

**0000000000**

"Oh, man..."

We were looking over the wastelands, and saw a huge group... And they were moving fast.

"They're coming." Luxray said. "Get ready, they will arrive in just a few hours."

**0000000000**

**The final arc is about to begin!**

**THE ASHE MOUNTAIN BATTLE ARC!**

**I hope you all will come back soon to see the big final battle unfold, right before your eager reader's eyes!**

**Go ahead and click that review button in order to *ahem* MOTIVATE me to work faster!**

**It's down there!**

**\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**


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